


Take the Dive

by JinxedAmbitions



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Olympics, Athlete Hux, Athlete Kylo, Bitter Exes, Comeplay, Explicit Sexual Content, Fake Marriage, Fluff and Angst, Hangover, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mutual Pining, Rimming, Synchronized Diving, alcohol use, brief mentions of past bullying, past sports related injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-08-08 03:09:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 62,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7741036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JinxedAmbitions/pseuds/JinxedAmbitions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hux is the top diver in the world coming back for his third Olympic Games.  However, this time he's bringing more baggage than just his equipment.  His former partner, Ben Solo, is also competing with his new partner, and Hux's greatest rival, Poe Dameron. </p><p>Hux needs to prove he's still the best in the world, but more than that he wants to prove to himself that he can move past Ben.  However, Ben seems dead set on reminding him about the past at every turn.  </p><p>A fierce rivalry, bitter exes, one big temper, some tiny swim suits, and a medal on the line...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am weak. I swore I wouldn't fall into the Olympic AU hole, but I did. I saw men in tiny diving trunks and decided to put them on Hux and Ren.

Hux sat in the hot tub keeping his muscles warm between practice dives.  A scowl was firmly on his lips as he watched the platform on the monitor.  The Americans were practicing as well.  That wasn’t the problem.  The problem was  _ which  _ Americans were practicing. 

Hux gritted his teeth as Ben Solo took the platform with Poe Dameron.  Poe Dameron, the hotshot diver was so cocky it made Hux want to drown the man himself.  And  _ Ben Solo, _ that bastard was a liar.  Hux couldn’t stand the man.

The pair stood at the edge of the platform, and the height difference was ridiculous.  Hux scoffed as Poe took control and started them. One, two, three small bounces and then the pair were pushing off the platform in a forward dive, folding in half then diving straight in.  It wasn’t polished.  It wasn’t even well synchronized.  Hux was disgusted that they even made the finals with that nonsense.

“Hux, you coming?” his partner, Mitaka, asked. 

Hux tore his eyes away from the monitor, watching for Ben to break the surface.  It was habit, something he should definitely break.  

“Don’t be silly,” Hux snipped, climbing out of the tub and walking back toward the platform. 

They passed the Americans as they were coming out of the pool, and Mitaka gave both men a small smile as they walked.  Poe gave him a high five, but Ben glared at them both.  Hux met his glare with his own arctic scowl.  

Hux pushed past them to climb up to the 10 meter platform, and Mitaka rushed after him.  Once Hux was up there, he pushed all other thoughts out of his mind.  He walked to the edge of the platform, slowing his breathing and getting into the zone. 

“Ready?”

“Yes,” Mitaka replied, sounding nervous as ever.  The man had incredible skill, but he was always skittish.

“Breathe,” Hux chastised him.

“Breathe,” Mitaka repeated.

“One, two, three,” Hux counted, then dove off the platform, twisting his body in the air before slipping into the water with hardly a splash. He spread his legs, reoriented himself, and pushed toward the surface.  When he broke the surface, his eyes immediately found Ren...Ben Solo watching him from the side of the pool.  Hux flipped him off as he swam to the wall.  Ben scowled at him and disappeared behind the partition.

Hux pulled himself out of the water and went over to the showers, letting the warm water pour down on him and ease away the tension in his shoulders.  He tipped his head back, letting the water push the hair out of his eyes.  He rubbed his belly and chest then turned slowly in the soothing warmth.

“He’s not worth your time.”

Hux opened his eyes to see Ben leaning against the wall.  

“Excuse me?” Hux said angrily.

“He’s holding you back. Where’d you find him?” Ben asked, looking confident.  His eyes followed the line of Hux’s body, inspecting every plane of it.  Hux felt his gaze like one of the drops of water, clinging to his skin as it slid down from his clavicle over his chest and lean body, resting at the line of his trunks. He’d always been a little put off by the size or lack thereof of the bottoms he had to wear--more off putting was Ben.

Hux scowled at the nerve he had.  He had no right to critique Hux’s choice of partners.  Hux wasn’t the one that fucked off back to America instead of applying for citizenship, so they could compete together at the Olympics.  Hux wasn’t the one that abandoned everything they’d worked for during the last three years.  Hux wasn’t the one that partnered up with their greatest rival in possibly what was the greatest Olympic betrayal since Tanya Harding got someone to take a pipe to one of her own countrywomen.

“Dopheld is an exceptional diver.  I told you never to speak to me again,” Hux hissed, stepping out of the shower and shouldering past Ben.

“What? Can’t take a little criticism?  You’re awfully good at giving it, Armie,” Ben told him.

Hux spun around, feeling fire in his veins.  “I don’t take criticism from liars or children pretending to play with the adults, Ben.  Go throw a fit somewhere,” Hux retorted.  

Ben spat at Hux’s feet.  “Good luck,” Ben said softly before walking back out.

Hux gasped, fury hitting a tipping point.  “You didn’t,” Hux growled.

“What?” Ben asked, smiling smugly.

“I will drown you in your own arrogance,” Hux told him, turning on his heel and stalking away.  How dare Ren...Ben wish him luck.  He knew how Hux couldn’t handle it. It was his one superstition.  Hux cursed to himself as it already began to sink into his mind and pull at all of the barriers he’d put up. 

“Hey,” Mitaka said, following him.  

“Don’t speak right now, Mitaka. I’m not in the mood,” Hux told him, walking into the locker room.  He couldn’t practice while Ben was still in there.  He needed his space.  He needed an Atlantic Ocean of space between him and Ben Solo.  Perhaps half a world was necessary to escape the twist of the knife of betrayal in his chest.

Three years.  For three whole years, Hux had dedicated himself to Ren and their diving.  He had held Ren up when he doubted himself and pushed him to be his best.  For three years, he had given every breath to their partnership.

_ “Do you, Armitage Hux, take Kylo Ren to have and to hold in sickness and health for all the days of your life?” the magistrate asked. _

_ Hux looked over at Ren who was standing there looking completely besotted.  The giant oaf looked like he might cry at any moment.  Not that that was anything unusual.  Ren looked like he was about to cry constantly.  When Ren had showed up for their first practice, Hux had thought he might cry at least a dozen times throughout their dry practice. _

_ “I do,” Hux replied, giving Ren the closest thing to a smile as he could.  Ren’s lower lip trembled as Hux said it, squeezing Hux’s hand like he wasn’t sure Hux was actually real. _

_ “And do you, Kylo Ren, take Armitage Hux to have and to hold in sickness and in health for all the days of your life?” the magistrate asked Ren. _

_ There they were.  The first tear slipped from Ren’s eye as Hux gave his fingers another squeeze.  Hux reached up and wiped the tear away.  He’d been wiping Ren’s tears for over twoyears, and it was just habit at this point. _

_ “I do,” Ren said hoarsely.   _

_ Everything after that was a blur.  Their coach, Snoke, handed over the rings.  Hux’s sister snapped some pictures, and they shared a hearty meal that went with their strict training diet at Hux’s apartment.  He vaguely remembered dancing. _

_ It didn’t feel like the sham wedding that it was.  Ren had shyly joined him in the bedroom that evening, his hulking frame taking up most of the bed.  It wasn’t the first bed they’d shared, but it was different.  They were married now.  Partners in yet another sense of the word. _

_ They had laid together watching their tapes on Hux’s tablet well into the night.  “You need to keep yourself tighter.  You’re going too big, and it’s ruining your finish,” Hux told him, running his fingers through Ren’s unruly hair. _

_ “Maybe you should loosen up a little instead,” Ren told him just to be contrary.  It was Ren’s M.O.  Hux was used to it.   _

_ “Don’t be ridiculous,” Hux told him, replaying the last dive. _

_ “I’m serious. You’re always so tense.  It can’t be healthy,” Ren said, pushing the tablet away and rolling over Hux’s body. _

_ “Ren,” Hux warned. _

_ “It’s our wedding night,” Ren whispered, leaning in and kissing Hux’s neck. _

_ “I’m aware, but it’s also a sham wedding to increase your chances of citizenship before the Olympics,” Hux told him, pushing his face away. _

_ “Hux, we’ve been fucking almost as long as we’ve been diving together...actually, we fucked last Olympics which was before we were together.  So…” _

_ “You are hopeless,” Hux sighed, pulling off his glasses and placing them on the nightstand.  “Give me my tablet. I’m not losing another one because you’re horny,” Hux said, slapping Ren’s arm lightly. _

_ Ren reached down and handed Hux the tablet that he loved more than Ren himself.  Ren had bought it for him after dropping his last one in the pool, which he’d also bought after tossing the previous one against the wall because he wanted to fuck Hux after an awesome competition. _

_ “Come here,” Hux whispered, pulling the comforter down and letting Ren into the cocoon.  Ren took the invitation, kissing Hux softly as he slowly stripped him of his clothes.  The sex had been gentle, none of the pent up passion after their meets.  It was slow and loving, and afterward they’d both drifted in a satisfied haze, saying things they couldn’t possibly mean.  Making promises neither knew if they could keep. _

_ \--- _

_ “What do you mean you didn’t apply?  I filled out all of the paperwork. I even filled out the envelop,” Hux said, watching Ren stand in their bedroom looking guilty as hell.  There was an open suitcase on the bed, and all of their drawers were wide open.  The floor was littered in both of their clothing. _

_ “I didn’t send it in,” Ren repeated like that was a completely acceptable answer. _

_ “What the hell is wrong with you?  Did you hit the water too hard?  We cannot compete together if you don’t get citizenship.  We can’t take home gold if you aren’t dedicated to this!” Hux shouted at him. _

_ “Don’t yell at me like I’m a child,” Ren retorted. _

_ “You are acting like one.  How do you fail to send in the most important forms of your life?” _

_ “They aren’t. They’re just a lie to get us into the Games.  They aren’t the most important forms.  It wouldn’t work anyway,” Ren said. _

_ “What on earth are you talking about?” _

_ Ren balled his hands into fists and stalked toward Hux, bringing his hands up and placing them on his shoulders.  “It wouldn’t work because Kylo isn’t my legal name,” Kylo said, looking down at the floor. _

_ “What?” Hux asked, shocked and suddenly frightened that everything was coming down around him. _

_ “My name is Ben Solo.  I changed it to distance myself from my parents. I’ve gone by Kylo for years, but...I never  _ formally  _ changed it...I--” _

_ “But I married you.  I married Kylo Ren.  I have the paperwork,” Hux said, trembling in Ren’s arms.  “I stood there and swore I’d hold you for the rest of my days!  You had the paperwork!” _

_ “I guess it’s not...official.  Coach said he’d take care of it,” Ren said, swallowing around the lump in his throat.  Hux felt like he’d been stabbed.  All of that careful planning to allow Ren to gain citizenship in time for the Games.  All those endless practices.  All of the arguments and the pain. _

_ “You told Coach Snoke?  When did you plan to tell  _ me _?  Was this all some kind of sabotage?  You sneak in here and seduce me, and ruin my chances at medalling?” Hux asked, feeling like he was drowning.  Feeling like he’d taken a dive, but he couldn’t make it back to the surface. _

_ He remembered watching Ren compete in the singles competition, watching the surface until he came back up.  Hux always watched, never trusting the universe not to snatch Ren out from under him.  Ren was the first diver Hux had been completely in synch with.  They argued on and off the platform, but when Hux counted they dove perfectly. _

_ Now that fear was coming true.   _

_ “We aren’t married?  We aren’t...Where are you going?  Were you just going to disappear?” _

_ “I figure you aren’t going to want me around.  I should probably head back to the States…” _

_ Hux gasped for air, but none was coming.  He counted in his mind, but his vision swam.  Ren was leaving him.  Ren was abandoning all that they had worked for.  Ren was fleeing the country.  Ren wasn’t actually Ren.  Ren didn’t exist.  He was Ben. _

_ “Don’t leave,” Hux pleaded for the first time in his life.  He’d forego synchronized diving in the Olympics.  He could still compete in solo diving.  He didn’t need the synchronized.  He needed Ren...Ben.  He needed Ben more than he needed a medal.  It was a jarring realization, but it was true. _

_ “It’s for the best if I do,” Ben told him, releasing Hux’s shoulders.  “You don’t want me around fucking things up more.  It’s not like it was a real marriage, like you said.  It was just a lie to get me citizenship, and since that’s off the table.  I’ll just get out of your hair.” _

_ Hux stumbled over to the wall as Ben grabbed his bag which only had half of his clothing in it and walked to the door.  “Tell Coach Snoke that I’m sorry.  I know you’ll do fine without me.  Hell, you barely even liked me right?” _

_ Hux could hardly form words, and Ben seemed to take that as confirmation.  “Goodbye, Hux. I’ll miss you.” _

_ “Go to hell. I never want to speak to you again,” Hux said.  It wasn’t what he wanted to say.  He wanted to beg again, but he couldn’t do that twice.  He couldn’t humiliate himself any further after what Ben had done. _

_ He sank to the floor, and stared at the disaster Ben had left.  Ben always left disaster in his wake.  His dreams had been crushed, his marriage dissolved, his heart broken all in a matter of minutes.  He sat there for hours unable to move until his coach showed up looking for them because they didn’t come to practice.  Snoke had not been happy, and Hux had bore that rage all by himself. _

\---

Hux went back to his room in the Olympic Village.  He barricaded himself in and tried not to think about Ren...Ben, damn it all…and just focus on his events.  It didn’t work.  It wasn’t like Hux hadn’t competed against Ben since he’d left him abruptly to return home to his famous parents and extensive support system. When Hux told his father, he’d said ‘I told you you couldn’t trust an America.’

Hux told his mind not to go there.  He had four medals over two Olympics, and that still wasn’t enough for his father.  Nothing but gold in every event was sufficient, and even then Brendol would find flaws in Hux’s performance.

Hux punched his pillow, angry with himself for still caring.  Ben had been gone for nearly a year now.  It shouldn’t be a problem at this point.  It had all been a lie.  Hux needed to move on.

He stood up and went out into the Village.  He’d find someone to fuck, and he’d get Ben out of his system.  He didn’t need Ben’s negativity or his constant scrutiny.  He was his own person.  So what if they’d been each other’s shadow for three years?  That wasn’t the case anymore, and Hux would show him just how little he cared.

He wandered around the Village, watching his surroundings carefully, not only for prospects but for rivals and people he’d pissed off.  Hux wasn’t exactly a good sport most of the time.  He did his thing, and he didn’t take shit from anyone.  He didn’t have a lot of friends in the sport or the entire Olympic Village.

Hux just needed a pint and some entertainment for the evening.  He didn’t buy into all those superstitions about not having sex before a competition.  He and Ren had fucked before every competition, and they’d done just fine.  

A little distraction would serve him well.  It would get him loosened up and take his mind off Ben Solo and his betrayal.  He just needed to find someone worth his time.  That shouldn’t be too hard considering the bodies he constantly saw on display just wandering through the Village.  Clothes were at a minimum in these parts, and muscles were definitely at a premium.

Hux found the little watering hole that Mitaka had said he’d made some friends in since they’d arrived.  There were bars all over, but some were more tolerable than others.  Hux didn’t want to be drinking with the entire world’s rugby teams.  He could appreciate them from afar and enjoy the matches, but he didn’t want to be anywhere near where they were drinking.  

The bar Mitaka had, not so much recommended as, insisted Hux got to just to get out of their damn room was not quite full to capacity with ordinary sorts of individuals.  Hux recognized one of his country’s marksmen sitting at the bar with a young woman he vaguely recognized, perhaps a horseback rider.  

Hux moved through the crowd of people toward the corner of the bar.  He wanted to be able to see those around him yet be out of the mess of a crowd.  He grabbed a stool from a woman who was leaving, and he settled himself in.

“Glenlivet, neat,” Hux said to the bartender as they came past.  Even the bartender looked like an athlete.  

It was astonishing to Hux how many hard bodies could be found in one place.  Hux knew his body type wasn’t particularly common.  He was thin, and though he was strong, his body didn’t get defined muscles the way many of the other divers did. 

Hux had always been a little self conscious standing next to Ren who was built in all the ways Hux was not.  He had defined abs and biceps the size of Hux’s head.  His legs were muscled and thick.  They shouldn’t have worked so well together.  They moved completely differently away from the pool, but somehow even though they looked completely opposite they were perfectly in synch.

_ “This seat taken?” the over-inflated diver from the States asked.   _

_ Hux gave him a once over.  He was wearing clothes, but even now he could tell he was cut.  His long dark hair reminded Hux of a lion’s mane, and his deep brown eyes were almost...soulful.   _

_ “No, but I’m not looking for company, so if you plan to talk take the seat elsewhere,” Hux told him. _

_ “Don’t need to talk.  I can just stare at you uncomfortably for a while,” the man said, placing his large beer down on the high top table without using a coaster. _

_ “Charming,” Hux sneered. _

_ “If it’s charm you want, I’ve got that in spades,” he said. _

_ “Somehow I doubt that,” Hux retorted, bringing his own pint to his lips. _

_ “They told me you were an asshole, but I don’t see it,” the other athlete said, playing with the condensation on his glass. _

_ “Who exactly is they?” Hux asked, annoyed that the man was still talking. _

_ “All of them.  Everyone knows Armitage Hux, and everyone says he’s an asshole when I tell them he’s my inspiration.” _

_ “I’m happy to see that we are all mature adults here,” Hux sighed.  He knew he was hard to take sometimes, but he was focused.  The rest of these people should be focused too, but they were all about the party. _

_ “I’m Ren. I dive for--” _

_ “The United States.  Yes, your atrocious accent is unmistakable.  Unfortunately, you are still speaking, and I feel exhausted by your attempts to converse.  Good evening,” Hux said, standing from his seat and drained his pint. _

_ “Wait!  Look, I’m a huge fan.  I’ve been watching your dives for years.  You’re one of the guys that got me interested in diving.  I used to be a sprinter…” _

_ “I don’t do autographs.  They always end up on ebay with a bid far too low to do anything for my ego,” Hux told him, walking away. _

_ “I don’t want an autograph,” Ren said, leaving his pint and following Hux through the bar.   _

_ “Good because you aren’t getting one.” _

_ Hux stepped out of the bar, and almost immediately he was pressed into the alley beside it and up against the wall.   _

_ “Unhand me,” Hux told him.   _

_ “Can I just talk to you?  Pick your brain?” _

_ “I said I didn’t want to talk, and you haven’t shut your mouth si--”  _

_ Hux was cut off by the man’s lips on his own.  He was shocked at first.  It was a bold move, but for as irritating as the things that came out of his mouth were, his lips were quite good at kissing.  Hux melted into the kiss, pressing against Ren and giving as good as he got. _

_ After nearly a minute, they separated but continued to rest their foreheads against each others.   _

_ “I can not talk if you’d like,” Ren told him, leaning down and kissing Hux’s neck. _

_ Hux sighed.  “My room or yours?” he asked, and he could feel Ren’s grin against his throat. _

_ “Either is fine.  I’d be down for a bathroo--” _

_ “I’m not a barbarian, Ren.  If I going to fuck you, I’m doing so in a bed like a civilized--umph” _

_ Ren grabbed him by the waist and lifted him, grinding against him as he pressed Hux’s back to the wall.  Hux had no choice but to wrap his legs around Ren’s waist.   _

_ “Can’t wait.  Been wanting this for years,” Ren gasped, humping Hux roughly. _

_ “Barbarian,” Hux muttered, but he reached between them and freed Ren’s erection from his athletic pants then freed his own from his trousers. _

_ Ren whimpered as their cocks brushed against each other, then he adjusted his hold on Hux, so their bodies pressed more firmly against each other.  Even Hux was brought to groaning in satisfaction as their erections rubbed. _

_ “Shit,” Ren muttered, gripping Hux’s hips so tightly that Hux wondered if he’d be sporting bruises in the pool the next day.   _

_ “Careful, Ren,” Hux warned as his back grated uncomfortably against the brick facade. _

_ “Oh god...touch me... _ please _ ,” Ren begged, moving his hips faster.   _

_ Hux spit in his palm then lifted his hand, and Ren did the same.  He reached down and wrapped his hand around both their erections and began to stroke them in time with Ren’s movements.  They both released soft noises as Hux adjusted his grip. _

_ Hux could admit that this felt good.  He didn’t often search out a partner at competitions, but Ren was enthusiastic and strong, and he was wonderfully rough around the edges.   _

_ “Shit, shit, shit. I’m really close,” Ren gasped, hips jerking as Hux teased the head of their cocks with his thumb. _

_ “Don’t you dare come yet,” Hux told him, gripping the base of Ren’s cock tightly.  That seemed to have the opposite of the intended effect because before he knew it, Ren cried out and Hux felt warm liquid hit his chin. _

_ Hux cringed as he looked down at his polo shirt which was now covered in entirely too much semen to have come out of one man.  Ren continued to pulse in his grip, his cock dribbling the last of his release as Ren panted heavily against Hux’s ear. _

_ “Shit, that was incredible.  I-I’ve fantasized about doing this with you since I saw you in the last Olympics,” Ren admitted, still gripping Hux as though he was afraid to let him go. _

_ “Shut up, and put me down.  You have the self control of a child,” Hux said, pushing Ren away. _

_ Ren lowered him in a daze, looking at Hux as he stepped back.  “You’re still hard,” he mumbled as he looked at the mess he’d made of Hux. _

_ “Brilliant observation, Ren.  Now get on your knees and do something about it or leave me in peace,” Hux ordered. _

_ Ren’s eyes went wide at the suggestion, and he sank to his knees immediately.  He licked his own come off of Hux’s cock and took him deep on the first thrust.  Hux groaned, leaning back against the wall for support. _

_ He looked down at Ren as his lips spread wide over his length.  It was a stunning sight, and it didn’t hurt that Ren seemed to know what to do with a dick in his mouth.   _

_ Reaching down, Hux tangled his fingers in Ren’s messy hair.  Ren groaned as Hux tugged at the thick hair, swallowing him down even further.  “That’s it, take it deep,” Hux encouraged as he began to rock his hips forward. _

_ Ren reached up and cupped Hux’s balls, massaging them gently as he pulled back and teased the head of his cock.  He rolled the foreskin back as far as he could without hurting Hux, sucking gently on the head, then pushed the skin back into place and carefully worried it with his lips and eased his tongue beneath it where it was loose enough. _

_ Hux whimpered at how intense the pleasure felt as Ren paid attention to his most sensitive areas.  He panted heavily as Ren swallowed him down again as far as he could, allowing Hux to push down his throat.   _

_ Squeezing his eyes closed, Hux rocked his hips gently.  Ren didn’t seem phased at all by how deeply he was taking Hux.  He clearly had great breathing control because it was a long time, at least to Hux, before Ren pulled back for breath. _

_ “Christ,” Hux gasped as Ren teased his head again.  “Shit, I’m there,” he warned a moment before he felt his body tighten.  Ren pulled back slightly, but Hux ended up coming all over his face and hair.  “Fuck,” Hux sighed, looking down at Ren who looked completely debauched covered in Hux’s come. _

_ “Fuck,” Ren echoed, licking the fluid on his lips and a bit on his cheek.  “That was hot,” he said rather dumbly, but Hux couldn’t disagree.   _

_ Ren ended up removing his shirt and using it to clean them both up.  Hux shouldn’t have been surprised at the cut body beneath his t-shirt, but he was.  Ren had been so caught up in him, and Hux couldn’t understand it when Ren was built like that.  He could’ve had anyone in the Village, but he’d sought out Hux--had fantasized about Hux for years. _

Hux shook his head, cursing the memories that he couldn’t seem to erased even with copious amounts of alcohol.  He ordered another drink as he drained his first.  Thinking about Ben Solo was not going to help him.  He needed to clear his mind, and the best way to do that would be to sleep with someone else.

“Can I have a word, Mr. Hux?” a woman with a journalist badge said as she stepped up to him.

“I don’t give interviews,” Hux told her.  He never spoke to the press.  His coach handled interviews, and Hux did the actual work.  

“I know, I’ve been trying to get one with you since your first Olympic Gold,” she told him.

“You clearly don’t have anything better to do with your time then.  How unfortunate for you,” Hux said, swirling his drink around in the glass.

“Surely a few questions over a pint won’t hurt,” she wheedled.

“I’m not drinking a pint, and I don’t know about you but I didn’t come out tonight to talk about work.”

“Well, then the quicker you do the quicker I’ll be out of your hair.”

Hux glared at her.  She clearly wasn’t going to take no for an answer.  Ordinarily, that wouldn’t work on him.  He’d walked away from plenty of reporters.  He’d even threatened a few.  He just wasn’t up for the fight tonight.  

“What do you want, Ms.--”

“Katana, but you can call me Maz,” she said, smiling at him with wise eyes.  “I want to know everything, Armitage, but I’ll settle for how it feels to be in your third Olympics?”

“Buy me another drink, and maybe I’ll let you know,” Hux told her, downing his glass quickly.

“The fact that you need another one the night before the finals is a bit telling in and of itself,” she said, but she flagged the bartender down and pointed to Hux.  

When another glass was placed before him, Hux sighed. “It feels like I’m thirty-one years old and attempting to balance a successful career with a passion for a sport that is neither widely watched or highly respected,” Hux said, sipping his new drink.  He was feeling pleasantly fuzzy already.  He knew he should stop because he did have finals tomorrow, but he didn’t particularly want to.

“You sound bitter,” Maz said, never once taking out a pad or recorder.

“Bitter? Not at all.  Like I said, it’s a passion.  I can’t be bitter about being given to opportunity to pursue my passion even if it’s sometimes hard to find the time or doesn’t get any sort of notice.  I do this because I strive for excellence not because I want a pat on the back.”

“Then what  _ are  _ you feeling?” she asked shrewdly.

Exhausted, lonely, broken down.  He couldn’t say any of those.  “I’m feeling confident in my chances to bring home another gold medal,” he told her.

“You’ve never won anything less than gold at the Olympics.  Are you concerned about the competition, especially given your history with the American pair?”  She certainly struck right for the heart of it.  

“My history?” he asked innocently.

“You were partners with Ben Solo for three years.  That’s the longest any of your partnerships has lasted, and before him you hadn’t had a partner since before your first Olympics.  Then suddenly he’s back in the States, and he’s diving with your oldest rival, Poe Dameron.  Excuse me if I don’t believe the nonsense that you were preparing for the Olympics,” she said, accepting a pint from the bartender.

“I have nothing to say about Kylo Ren,” Hux told her sharply.

“You mean Ben Solo, and can I assume that you just have nothing nice to say, and your mother raised you better than to say bad things?”

Hux closed his eyes tightly.  Ben Solo, he wasn’t Kylo anymore if he ever was.  He wasn’t Hux’s partner, his lover, or his husband.  He was the competition, nothing more.

“My mother told me when I was in boarding school and being picked on that you had to find the battles you can win because no one can win them all.  Find something that the bullies couldn’t best me in and wipe the floor with them.  So, I learned to dive.  Whatever my history with Mr. Solo is, I will continue to do what I’ve always done.  I will wipe the floor with my competition, even if he is my former partner,” Hux told her in a rare moment of candidness.

“Do you feel the need to prove something?”

“Why should I?  I’ve won gold in every event I’ve entered in the past two Olympics.”

“Because how would it feel to come in second to Ben?” she asked him.

Hux looked into his glass, feeling much more affected than he’d realized.  “I know this may come as a shock, and I know it is not what the news wants, but I would be proud of Kylo if he bested me.  He is brash and unpredictable, and he has an explosive temper, but I wouldn’t have taken him as a partner if he wasn’t highly skilled and full of potential.  If he beats me, then perhaps he’s realized some of that potential,” Hux told her.  He downed the rest of his third drink, feeling thoroughly intoxicated.  Scotch had been a poor choice.

“How do you feel about the things Solo and Dameron have been saying about you and your partner?” she finally asked.

Hux frowned.  He didn’t read the papers, and he refused to listen to the news.  “What exactly are you referring to?” he asked, not liking that she knew something that he didn’t.

“Ben Solo told the press yesterday that you were a…” she pulled her phone from her pocket before scrowling through to find what she wanted. “...’megalomaniac and a terror to work with.’  He said that your ‘skill wasn’t worth the shit any partner had to put up with, and that he felt sorry for your current partner.’  He finished the interview by saying that he ‘couldn’t wait to tower over you on the podium,’” she read directly from her phone.

Hux felt his throat close up momentarily.  He felt the knife twist in his chest again, or perhaps Ren had simply ripped it out of him this time and would leave him to bleed out on the floor of this seedy bar in the Olympic Village.

“Mr. Hux?”

“I think that Mr. Solo shows his immaturity with such comments, Ms. Katana.  I’m not the one that cracked under pressure. I’m not the one that abandoned our dreams.  Nor am I the one that lied then walked out on the man I believed I’d marri--” Hux’s mouth snapped shut.  He blinked once then again.  Had he really just said that?  “I need to go,” he said, standing abruptly as Maz watched him in shock. 

He considered asking her not to print it, but that was like asking a predator not to eat its prey.  It wasn’t possible.  He had fallen into her trap, and he’d live with the consequences.

Hux planned to walk right out of the bar, but as he walked he caught the eye of a well built man near the door.  He was clearly checking Hux out, and Hux detoured toward him.  If he’d needed to get laid before, he needed it tenfold now.  

Ren considered him a terror.  No wonder he’d abandoned him.  He’d probably hated Hux all along.  He’d just wanted to fuck his hero, take his knowledge, and move on, but Hux had grasped at him and never let him go.

_ “You need to calm down or you’re going to hurt yourself,” Hux scolded Ren as they stayed after hours at the pool.  Ren had given the guard a handjob to gain access, begging Hux to give him some pointers before the big final.  _

_ “I’m calm!” Ren almost shouted.  _

_ Hux gave him an unimpressed look as the sound echoed off the walls.  Ren’s shoulders rolled inward.  “I’m coming up,” Hux said, climbing up onto the platform  beside Ren’s.  “Come sit,” he said taking a seat on the edge of the platform and dangling his feet off the end of it. _

_ Ren did the same, their knees almost brushing.  “You’re very eager to show your worth,” Hux said, studying Ren in the dark aquatic center. _

_ “Isn’t everyone?” Ren asked defensively. _

_ “I know I’m the best, Ren.  Every athlete that comes here believes it in a part of themselves that they are the best.  You are trying very hard to be the best because you don’t believe you are,” Hux said.  “You’re fighting yourself on every dive.  You need to let it happen not wrestle it into submission.” _

_ “How?” _

_ “I don’t know. I’m not you.” _

_ “How do you do it?” Ren asked, sounding incredibly earnest. _

_ Hux thought about his early meets back at school.  Before he’d had the confidence he did now.   _

_ “I used to tell myself that failing wasn’t an option.” _

_ “That’s not really helpful.” _

_ “What do you fear, Ren?  You’re powerful, you don’t fear the height, you are incredibly athletic.  You could do dives I couldn’t dream of doing if you wanted to, but you fight yourself.  What is holding you back?” _

_ “What if I’m not good enough?” _

_ “I just told you that you are!”   _

_ “It’s not that simple!” _

_ “When I was in school, they used to chase me back to my dorm room.  If I wasn’t fast enough they’d beat me up.  I  jumped out the stairwell window on the third floor when I was eleven because I didn’t have the strength or energy to sprint the last two flights with them on my heels.  If I didn’t jump I was going to get beat up, if I did jump I was going to get hurt, and if I landed it wrong I might die.  I jumped, and I rolled, and I got some cuts and scrapes but I shot up and ran for the woods.  They were impressed.  Rumor was that I could fly after that.  I still got beat up occasionally, but they respected me too.  I’m the best.  I can’t beat anyone up, and I can’t cook worth a damn, but I will jump when the situation calls for it, and there is no option of failing.” _

_ Ren was biting his lip when Hux finished.  “That’s heavy.” _

_ “It is what it is, Ren.  None of those boys will ever be olympians.  They’re barristers and politicians and doctors, but once every four years everyone in the country is saying my name, and they’re saying it with respect.  When they say those other boys’ names, they’re sneering.” _

_ “My mother was a swimmer and my dad was a marksman.  They met at the Games.  It’s a family tradition.  I’m not sure I’m going to live up to it.  My little cousin is already training to be a weightlifter...I just--” _

_ “Let’s do it together,” Hux told him, standing up.  “Come on.  You wanted my help, so let’s do this,” Hux told him, standing at the edge of the platform. _

_ Ren stood and mirrored him on his own side of the platform.   _

_ “Good, now breathe.” _

_ “Breathing,” Ren said, taking a slow breath. _

_ “On my count. Double somersault,” Hux said, centering himself.  “Find your center.  Picture your entry.  Breathe.  One, two, three,” Hux said before jumping and tucking his legs up and pitching forward to do a double somersault before straightening out and diving straight into the water. _

_ He glanced over as he kicked to the surface, and Ren was right beside him.  Ren surfaced, breathing heavily but smiling.  “That was awesome,” he said, swimming into Hux’s space and kissing him.  Hux could taste the pool water on him, but he didn’t mind. He wrapped his arms around Ren’s neck and kissed him hungrily. _

_ “Hot tub,” Hux said when they pulled apart. _

_ “Hot tub?” Ren asked dumbly, practically drowning them both in his attempts to hump Hux in the deep pool. _

_ “I want to fuck in the hot tub,” Hux clarified, and that seemed to get Ren’s full attention. _

_ “Yeah, hot tub,” he said, kicking his feet to propel them toward the side of the pool.  Hux let go of him and climbed out, not waiting for Ren to catch up as he walked over to the hot tubs behind the partition and turned one of them on. _

_ Ren practically tackled him into the tub, and Hux had to stop himself from chastising Ren.  He quickly forgot his anger when Ren tugged his trunks off with strong hands.   _

_ “I don’t have lube or anything,” Ren said as he made quick work of his own snug trunks as well.  Hux didn’t know how Ren fit into the tiny suit considering the size of him.  It was like some bizarre magic trick that Hux had no hope of understanding. _

_ “Doesn’t matter,” Hux told him, straddling his lap so their chests and cocks were pressed together.  Ren groaned and circled his arms around Hux’s waist, pulling him more firmly against his chest. _

_ “Shit, I really want to fuck you,” Ren told him, moving his hips to create friction. _

_ Hux smirked at him, enjoying the pleasure of Ren’s body and the warmth of the tub.  “I only let winners fuck me.  You’ll have to show me a medal first,” Hux told him, rocking his hips harder against Ren. _

_ “Shit.” Ren cursed, lifting Hux up and turning him around so he faced away from him.  “Squeeze your thighs together,” he commanded, and Hux conceded.  Ren thrust his cock between Hux’s legs, panting loudly as they created the perfect friction. _

_ “You better get at least bronze for this,” Hux commented, gripping the sides of the tub tightly to hold himself in place as Ren held his hips and pulled him down onto his cock.  It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t neat, but it was effective. _

_ Ren grunted as he came between Hux’s thighs, pressing his forehead against Hux’s back.  He reached around Hux and gently touched his still hard cock while he slowly came back down.  Hux waited until he felt Ren relax beneath him then he rose and turned back around. _

_ In the dim light, Ren looked completely pleased.  His mouth was slack, and his chest was heaving.  Hux couldn’t look away from his beautifully defined chest. _

_ “Press your pecs together,” Hux told him. _

_ “What?” _

_ “I want to come on your chest.” _

_ “Oh, like what they do to girls in pornos?” Ren asked him, though he didn’t sound offended by that implication. _

_ “Sure, just create a bit of a valley,” Hux said, kneeling on the bench seat and holding his cock firmly.  He stroked himself a couple times before sliding it along Ren’s sternum between his pecs.  He groaned at just how firm Ren’s chest was.  “Lean forward a little,” Hux told him, resting his palm over his own cock to press it to Ren’s body. _

_ Ren watched him with wide eyes as Hux began to rock against him, thrusting his cock through the tight space they’d created between Ren’s pecs.   _

_ “You like that, huh?  Look at you,” Ren said, and Hux realized he was grunting with every thrust.  It felt wonderful.  Ren’s skin was slick from the water and taut from the  thick muscles beneath it.  The pressure against his cock was driving him mad, and he knew this would be over too quickly. _

_ He threw his head back as Ren’s big hands gripped his ass, spreading his cheeks and squeezing them.  He gasped as Ren pressed his thumb to Hux’s hole.  The pressure sent pleasurable sparks up Hux’s spine. _

_ “I’m going to fuck you so hard when I win gold,” Ren told him, slapping his ass lightly. _

_ Hux cried out, spilling over Ren’s chest and continuing to pump his hips through his orgasm.  Ren held him steady, catching some of Hux’s release on his neck and chin.  Hux thought briefly that he was beginning to like seeing Ren painted in his come. _

_ When Hux had come back down to Earth, he grunted.  “Like hell you’re beating me for gold,” Hux told him, wiping his cock on Ren’s already messy chest.  Then he dropped back into the water and sat on the bench opposite Ren’s. _

_ Ren was smiling at him.  “Well if you beat me, you can fuck me,” Ren told him. _

_ “I told you I don’t fuck losers.” _

_ “No, you said you don’t let them fuck you,” Ren retorted.   _

_ “Just focus on winning, Ren.  If you medal, I’ll consider an arrangement.” _

_ “We could be partners,” Ren suggested, cutting through the water to straddle Hux’s lap this time. _

_ “I don’t take partners.” _

_ “Make an exception.” _

_ “Exceptions lead down a dangerous road.” _

Hux blinked, staggering slightly as he took the seat in front of the good-looking man he’d made eye contact with.  “I hope this seat isn’t taken,” he said, smirking in what he hoped was a predatory way.

“Been saving it for you,” the man said, returning Hux’s smile.  He had a thick accent that Hux would’ve been able to place if sober.

“What brings you here?” Hux asked, adjusting in his seat.  

The man motioned for another drink, and turned back to Hux.  “I’m here for this little thing called the Olympics.  How about you?  You with the press or supporting friends?” the man asked.  Even in Hux’s admittedly unfortunate state of inebriation, the man sounded cocky.  Hux didn’t mind cocky so long as the person could back it up with results. 

However, Hux was insulted that he didn’t think he was an athlete.  If he was even a little bit closer to sober he’d pour the man’s drink in his lap and show him the four gold medals tattooed over his ribs.  Instead, the annoyance left him as soon as it came, and he chuckled.  You caught more flies with honey than with vinegar after all. 

_ “Hux, you catch the most flies with shit.  Flies love shit.” _

_ “Just close your mouth if you have nothing to add to conversation.  You’ll catch flies with it open so often...because you’re full of shit, Ren,” Hux retorted, annoyed by Ren’s constant need to question him and argue. _

_ “It was a crap analogy.  You aren’t as eloquent as you think you are.” _

_ “Was that on you SAT word of the day calendar?” _

_ “Fuck you.” _

Hux shook the memories from his head, but  the movement made his vision blur.  “Oh, and what do you compete in?” Hux asked, deflecting because he couldn’t remember the question.

“Rowing,” he said.

“Fascinating.”

“You didn’t say what brings you here,” the man said.  

“I dive,” Hux said.

“In those tiny panties?”

A second time Hux would have poured the man’s drink into his lap.  Instead, he shrugged.  “Perhaps you would like to find out,” he suggested.

The man grinned, standing up from his seat.  “Care to take a walk?”

“I would,” Hux agreed, rising on unsteady feet.

They stepped out of the bar, Hux walking a bit unsteadily but stubbornly forcing his body to cooperate.  He always had incredible control, and a little thing like several servings of aged scotch was not going to change that...much.  

The man beside him was muscular.  Definitely worthy blowing off some steam with.  Hux could always kick him out of bed once he got what he wanted.  Hux hoped he wasn’t taking steroids.  That would be disappointing.  He knew they tested for them, but in his experience the real test was getting a look at their package.  Ren had a perfect...he wouldn’t go there.  He really shouldn’t have had that third drink.

They were getting close to his section of the Village when Poe Dameron appeared out of nowhere.  One moment, Hux was telling the man about the nuances of diving, and the next a very pissed off Poe was standing in front of them.

“Hey, buddy sorry, but this guy’s with us,” Poe said, standing firmly in their way.  Another man stood behind him looking just as ready to fight.

“Excuse me?” Hux asked.  This brute of a rower didn’t look like the type to hang out with Poe Dameron.  Why would Poe try to steal his lay especially when he seemed to have his own?

“Hux, we’ve been looking for you,” Poe said, reaching for Hux’s arm.

“What are you talking about?” Hux said, staggering back a step.

“Dude, your  _ husband  _ is looking for you,” Poe said, giving Hux a look that he believed was meant to be meaningful but made little sense at the moment.

“Who the fuck are you?” Hux’s prospective lay demanded.  

“I’m the guy saying you should fuck off before we have any trouble,” Poe said.

“You think you can take me?”

Hux almost snorted at the idea of Poe fighting this man.  Hux would pay to see that.  Perhaps he’d watch them fight then reward his champion with a bit of stress relief.

“Back off buddy.  He’s married, and his husband’s bigger than you,” Poe said, puffing up his chest and standing between Hux and the man.

“Fuck this,” the guy said, turning and walking away.  He didn’t tell Hux to follow or seemingly even remember what they had planned.  So much for stress relief.

“What exactly are you doing, Dameron?” Hux asked, trying to step away from the other man.  

“Dude, you’re embarrassing yourself,” Poe told him, grabbing for Hux.  Hux sidestepped him, not wanting to be touched by his rival.  However, a misstep left him staggering, and Poe quickly steadied him.

“I’m getting laid,” Hux told him simply.

“You have a husband,” Poe insisted, leading Hux back toward the dorms.

“No, I don’t.”

“Not according to Ben.  He can’t shut up about how good a diver his husband is.  ‘Oh Poe, my husband won his last competition.  He has four gold medals.  My husband is the best in the world.  That asshole isn’t good enough for my husband.’ You get the idea.”

“Rubbish, all of it,” Hux said, trying to lean less heavily on Poe since he hated him, but he wasn’t having much luck.  Poe’s friend was on his other side, hovering like he wasn’t sure how he could be of help.  Hux wanted to tell him he’d be of the most use if he took Poe away and left him alone.

“Nope, Ben worships the ground, or the way he puts it, the water you walk on.”

“You’re a liar just like he is,” Hux said as they went into the American building instead of his own.

“If I was lying, how would I know you’re married?” Poe asked him, guiding him into what was most likely his room.

Hux thought about that for a moment.  “We aren’t married.”

“He thinks differently, and while I was more than happy to think he was crazy at the start, he has your wedding photo in his wallet.  You both looked disgustingly happy,” Poe said, helping Hux down onto one of the two beds in the room.

“It doesn’t matter.  He’s a liar, and he left,” Hux told him, lying down on the bed without a fight.  He was too tired to fight Poe.  He just wanted to sleep.  He’d tell Poe what an idiot he was in the morning.

“Hey now, you need to lie on your side.  I’m not going to be responsible for you choking to death.  I don’t want to see what Ben’s capable of when  _ really  _ angry,” Poe said, guiding Hux onto his side.

“He’s a brute,” Hux mumbled, remembering that he often called Ren that when Ren got angry.  “I hate him,” Hux added, but he couldn’t really remember why.

“You and me both, man.  But what can you do?  Now you hold tight, and don’t wreck the place.  I’m going back to Finn’s room.  Think you can just flop there for a bit?” Poe asked, but not all of his words made sense to Hux.  “Yeah, you’re not going anywhere. Peace, man.”

Hux rolled onto his back as he heard the door slam.  The room was spinning, and Hux wanted to make it stop.  He hated losing control.  He hated being at a disadvantage, and if it wasn’t for Ren he wouldn’t give in to this self destruction.

Hux didn’t know how long he stared at the ceiling before he heard the door open and slam closed again.

“What the hell is going on, Poe?” Ben shouted.

Hux would know that voice anywhere.  He knew what it sounded like when brimming with anger, when sad, when overcome with pleasure.  It didn’t matter what emotion laced the heavy baritone; Hux would recognize it.  

Rolling onto his side again, Hux tried to see Ren, but it was too dark in the room.  Then someone flipped the light switch, and it was far too bright.

“Fuck,” Hux cursed, throwing his arm up and over his eyes.

“What the hell are you doing in Poe’s bed?  Are you coming on to my partner?  I get it, you hate me, but do you have to fuck with my chance at this?”  Ren was shouting.  A lot of it didn’t register with Hux. All he really registered was that Ren was pissed at him.  Ren hadn’t been pissed at him like this since they were just starting to work together.

_ “You aren’t pushing yourself,” Hux said, rewatching their dive for the third time on his tablet.   _

_ “I’m pushing.  I’m sorry I’m not perfect every time.  I’m working my ass off here, and all you have to say is you aren’t doing it right!” Ren shouted, kicking the wall in anger.   _

_ “I told you I don’t work with partners.  Either get yourself together or get out,” Hux told him calmly, hitting replay again.   _

_ “That’s it?  Get out?  That’s all you have to say?” _

_ “What do you want from me?” Hux asked, holding up the monitor. _

_ “Tell me you believe in me or something!” The vein in Ren’s neck was bulging ominously as he continued to shout. _

_ Hux took a deep breath.  “I wouldn’t have let you train with me if I didn’t think you could do it.  I wouldn’t have broken my own rule, if I didn’t think you could do it, Ren.  I thought we were beyond that.  I thought we were to the point where you show me that I’m right.” _

_ Ren shouted, and he tackled Hux into the pool--tablet and all--but he came up hugging Hux though he was still angry. _

“Hux, hey, Hux.  Shit, you’re wasted,” Ren said, patting Hux’s face.  Hux hadn’t realized that Ren was on the bed with him.  “Dammit, Hux. This is because of me isn’t it?”

Hux felt Ren’s thick fingers pushing his hair out of his face, followed by them cupping his jaw.  “Hux, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said good luck.  I know how much that fucks with you.  I shouldn’t have done that.  You need to drink this for me.  I need you to kick my ass tomorrow.  Put me in my place,” Ren said frantically.

A water bottle was pressed between Hux’s lips, and he sipped it slowly.  He wanted to tell Ren to go fuck himself, but he was too tired.

“You told the press I was a terror,” Hux muttered between sips. 

“It’s just hype.”

“It’s not hype when you have our history,” Hux told him, trying to pull out of his embrace.

“Stop fighting me.  You can hate me in the morning, but just let me make sure you make it that far,” Ren begged.

“I’m not that drunk,” Hux insisted, batting at Ren’s gentle hands.  He hated being cared for.

“Oh, you’re wasted, and you smell like a bar.  Just shut up, and let me hold you.”

“I’m going to destroy you tomorrow, and you’ll forever remember what you walked away from,” Hux told him.

“I’ll never forget whether or not you kick my ass tomorrow,” Ren muttered.  Hux felt Ren’s lips on his temple, and Ren’s arms around his waist.  He was too tired to pull away, so he sipped at his water and rested against Ren.

“I remember when we won our first championship, and you got so drunk that I had to carry you back to our room,” Hux said, putting his bottle down.

“I still don’t know how you did that.  I’m twice your size.”

“I never give up my secrets,” Hux told him, remembering how he’d called his friend Phasma to carry Ren back.  She’d shown up and taken one look at Ren passed out on the sidewalk and sighed.  She was a good friend.

“We didn’t keep secrets.”

“We all keep secrets,  _ Ben _ .”  Hux didn’t hear Ren’s response, drifting off in the security of Ren’s arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to have this fic completely posted by now, but this chapter alone is longer than I imagined the whole fic would end up being. Oops. Hopefully I'll have the final chapter up Monday or Tuesday if things don't continue to be hectic in real life.

Hux woke slowly as his world felt like it was being consumed by fire.  His head ached, his stomach roiled, and his body felt like it had been run through a wringer.  It was not the ideal way to wake on the morning of finals.

More disorienting than the pain his entire being was in was that there was an arm wrapped around his stomach, and a pair of lips pressed against the nape of his neck.  He glanced down at the hand cradling him, and he knew it was Ben Solo’s hand.  He had a web of scars on his knuckles from punching through a window when angered that he couldn't master a skill.  He also had a ring that looked suspiciously like his own wedding band which Hux had melted down when he realized Ben wasn’t coming back.

Part of Hux relaxed a little, knowing that it was Ben and not some stranger wrapped around him.  Even if Hux hated him, Ben wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his ability to compete today. Ben was honest that way, while Hux was the underhanded one.  After everything, Hux still believed Ben wouldn’t do anything too stupid.  He just didn’t happen to want to be in Ben’s arms, or so he firmly told himself.

Hux grabbed Ben’s hand and pried it off of him.  Ben grumbled in his sleep, rolling onto his back.  Hux used the opening to push himself into a sitting position.  He gritted his teeth as all of his aches and pains overwhelmed him for a moment.

“Hey, slow down,” Ben rasped, placing his hand on Hux’s shoulder.  He was probably still half asleep because his touch was clumsy. Ben was rarely clumsy.

Hux shrugged him off, pushing to his feet too quickly, but he held himself steady.  “Keep your hands off me,” Hux told him. His tone was as sharp as his headache.

“Hux…”

“Don’t speak to me.  I don’t want to hear any more lies.  It’s bad enough Poe called you last night after dragging me back here,” Hux said, walking over to the bag he recognized as Ben’s and unzipping it. The old leather monstrosity had belonged to Ben's grandfather or something.  He pulled out a bottle of Gatorade and drank it down in several long gulps.  Ben wisely said nothing.

Hux finished the bottle and tossed it at Ben just because the petty act made him feel better.  Ben caught it easily, then he dropped it onto the floor.  

“What did Poe say to get you to come back here with him?” Ben asked, sounding worried.

Hux gave him a glare as he rummaged through Ben’s bag again, removing a bottle of pain relievers.  He poured a few out onto his hand and picked up a bottle off the table.

“Nothing Poe said made me come back here. In case you couldn’t tell, I didn’t have much choice in the matter,” Hux said, tossing the pills into his mouth and washing them down with water.

“I’m sorry I yelled and accused you of trying to sleep with Poe last night.  I didn’t even believe it at the time.  It was just jarring to see you.  Poe wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information other than to get back to the room quick,” Ben said, sitting on the edge of the bed as though he was afraid of getting out of it.

Hux sniffed, and retreated into the bathroom.  He didn’t care what Ben thought he was up to.  No Hux wouldn’t have tried to sleep with Poe, but he had planned to sleep with someone else.  There was no point pretending to be innocent.  

Hux shut the bathroom door behind him.  As much as he put on a good front for Ben, he felt like hell.  He wasn’t sure how he was going to complete his dives when he felt this hungover, but he refused to let Ben win by default. He wasn't sure when this competition came down to just them, but it had. Hux didn't care nearly as much about the rest of the divers. He wasn't entirely sure he ever had.

Splashing water on his face, Hux looked at himself in the mirror.  He shouldn’t have let Ben’s comments get to him.  Ben had always said things to wind him up.  Hell, after he’d won silver on the solo 10 meter platform four years earlier, he’d hunted Hux down and demanded he get his “due.”  He’d worn a smirk as he’d said it, but Hux wasn’t fooled.  Ben went for what he wanted.

Hux used Ben’s shower, taking his time in order to try to bring some life back into himself.  He stood with his head against the cool tiles as the water ran down his body.  He ran his hands through his hair, massaging the base of his neck, but it did little to relieve the knot there.

Hux wasn’t sure he’d be able to force himself out of the shower because the hot water felt wonderful against his too tight skin.  He focused on going through his dives in his head, but even thinking of completing a half somersault made his head spin.

The door of the bathroom opened, and Hux turned to glare as Ben walked into the room.  Ben didn’t say anything as he stepped over to the toilet.

“Are you really taking a piss while I try to shower in peace?” Hux demanded, head still pressed against the cool tiles. Ben had no tact, so it wasn't really surprising.

“Nope,” Ben retorted, sounding completely pleased with himself as he dropped his pants and sat on the toilet.

" _Christ_.  You are a barbarian,” Hux groaned, turning his face back to the wall and trying to ignore that Ben had a perfect view of his back and ass.   The bathroom was too cramped for comfort. If Ben really wanted to, he could reach around the curtain and touch Hux from where he was seated.

“How are you feeling?” Ben asked, seemingly oblivious to how awkward the situation was.

“Must you speak?  I can almost pretend you don’t exist if you would just keep your mouth shut,” Hux replied, picking up the shampoo that he knew belonged to Ben and pouring it onto his palm.  He hated the smell because it smelled like Ben, but he wasn’t about to steal Poe’s things.  As much as Hux hated Poe, the man had probably done him a huge favor the night before.  This way Hux was only hungover instead of hungover and sore.

“You’re in _my_ room.  If you don’t want to talk to me, you should go back and shower in your own room,” Ben pointed out.

“Oh, like you fucked off back to America in the middle of training?” Hux retorted angrily.  He couldn’t stop the words from slipping out.  The betrayal still burned deeply.

“Are you going to bring that up every time we talk?”  Ben asked, throwing his arms up in the air then gripping his muscled thighs tightly.

“What would you rather I bring up?  You lied about who you were.  You sabotaged my chances of success at what could very easily be my final Olympics.  You married me, but you lied about everything so you really didn’t.  You partnered with my greatest rival.  Which would you rather I bring up?” Hux asked, turning around completely and glaring through the sheer curtain.  

Ben looked angry now too, though neither of them were in positions to look particularly menacing.  Hux’s head was covered in shampoo, and Ben was still seated on the toilet with his sweat pants around his ankles.

“You act like I’m the worst thing that ever happened to you!”

“ _You are_!”

“That’s bullshit.  We had good times.”

“I gave three goddamn years of my life to you, and you tried to disappear while I was at work.  I don’t think any of those good times matter much,” Hux told him.

“God, it’s always been about you, Hux.  Had to win every competition so as not to tarnish your perfect record.  Had to do things your way.  Had to follow your rules.  Did you ever think that maybe I had to leave for me?  I had to do something for myself for once?”

“Fuck you.  I gave everything to you, but you were too self absorbed to notice,” Hux shouted, tearing back the curtain and stepping out of the shower.  He grabbed his towel off the vanity and wrapped it around his waist.

“Don’t lie to yourself.  You don’t take partners because you’re poison!”

“I will show you poison when I humiliate you today,” Hux said, grabbing the roll of toilet paper and yanking it hard enough that the roller gave way.  Ben watched in confusion then horror as Hux threw it into the still running shower then turned and stepped over Ben’s legs to get out of the bathroom.

“What the fuck, Hux?” Ben shouted, but Hux just walked out of the room.  He stole Ben’s favorite pairs of sweats and another bottle of Gatorade before slipping out of the suite.  “Hux, bring me some fucking toilet paper, you asshole.  This isn’t funny!”

“Have fun cleaning up your own mess for once,” Hux called before slamming the door shut.

\---

Hux walked into the Aquatic Stadium wearing his warm up suit which kept the chill of the air conditioning away.  He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and staunchly ignored the crowds and journalists.  

He still wasn’t feeling his best.  In fact, he’d taken a second shower when he’d gotten back to his room to try yet again to perk up...and clean the shampoo out of his hair.  It had helped a little, but he was nowhere near where he wanted to be.  He told himself that Michael Jordan played one of the best games of his life with the flu, but that didn’t make his head feel any less awful.  Constantly drinking water and Gatorade was helping that slowly.

Mitaka was waiting for him in the locker room, looking just as eager and terrified as usual.  Hux didn’t have what it took to boost the man’s confidence today.  Mitaka was competent and had remarkable technique, but something had scared the shit out of him a few months back.  Hux had been trying to coax him back to confidence one meet at a time, but since they’d gotten to the Games Mitaka had been downright skittish when off the platform.

“You look like hell,” Mitaka said as Hux dropped his bag next to him.  

“You are incredibly astute, Doph.  I also happen to feel like hell,” Hux retorted, unzipping his jacket and shrugging it off his shoulders.  

“May I be honest?” Mitaka asked, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously.

Hux gave him a dry look, but he nodded.  Mitaka growing a pair would be worth whatever unkind thing he had to say.  Hux was never afraid of the truth even when it was unflattering.  It was best to have it out in  the open and work to fix it.

“You don’t believe we can beat him.  You’ve been sabotaging yourself for weeks, and now this.” Mitaka motioned to Hux and his current condition before continuing.  “You disappear the night before finals and come back completely wrecked.  You’re afraid you can’t beat Solo and Dameron, and you’re looking for an excuse.  I’ve worked my ass off this last year to be at your level, and you’re so hung up on what went wrong and doubting yourself that you’re fucking us both,” Mitaka told him, standing tall in the face of Hux’s temper.

“I see,” Hux said, sitting down on the bench to remove his sneakers.  “And what brought you to this conclusion of yours?”

“Look at yourself, Hux.  I was told I was working with the best in the world, the man who made competitors quake in their boots.  Where’s that man?” Mitaka asked him, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hux looked down at his hands, still unsteady from the abuse he’d done himself last night.  “You’re right.”

“I’m right?”  Mitaka sounded shocked.

Hux balled his hands into fists and looked up at Mitaka.  “Yes, I am the man that makes his competitors fear him.  Don’t think I’m willing to jeopardize my success for anything, certainly not for a partner not worth my time.  Get out there and warm up, and if I catch you looking watery-eyed today I’m going to throw you off that platform,” Hux told him, keeping his voice deathly calm.

Mitaka’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move.

“Get out there, or do I have to chase you to the pool?” Hux asked. Hux didn't think he would chase Mitaka ten feet never mind all the way to the pool, but it worked.

Mitaka left him, and Hux deflated.  Every word Dopheld had said was right, and it wasn’t the sort of self realization Hux wanted to be having an hour before he was set to compete, but it still gave him an hour to wrestle his demons.

_“Ren, stop fighting yourself.  Breathe,” Hux said, gripping Ren by the shoulders.  He dug his thumbs into Ren’s clavicle, massaging the tense muscles in his shoulders with his fingers._

_Ren shook his head.  He was breathing heavily, eyes wild as he looked between the judges and the platform._

_“Look at_ me _, dammit.  I’m the only thing that matters right now.  Three warm up dives and you didn’t pay attention to me on one of them,” Hux said, holding Ren’s jaw and forcing him to look at him._

_“I’m fine.”_

_“Of course, you are,” Hux said, flicking Ren in the ear._

_Ren batted his hands away. “Stop that,” he complained._

_“Not until you pay attention to me without it,” Hux said, resting his hands on Ren’s shoulders again.  “I will flick you right before we dive if need be. You’re scared.  This is our first competition as partners.  You feel the need to prove yourself.  But what did I tell you?” Hux ask him, massaging him again._

_“I get it.  You can stop trying to be supportive.  You suck at it,” Ren told him, shrugging off Hux’s touch._

_“I am perfectly adequate at it,” Hux said, following Ren to the hot tub.  He didn’t need to see Ren’s face to know he was rolling his eyes.  “You are a grown man.  You shouldn’t need me to hold your hand.”_

_“You’re not making it better, Hux,” Ren said, throwing his leg over the side of the hot tub and sinking into it.  Hux huffed and followed suit._

_“How is this for supportive?” Hux asked, moving closer to Ren and running his fingertips up the inside of his thigh._

_Kylo bit his bottom lip, and Hux wanted to do the same.   He glanced around, but none of the other divers were nearby.  He let his fingertips trail up to Ren’s crotch, massaging him there as well._

_“This isn’t going to help me relax,” Ren pointed out, but Hux just smirked at him.  He slipped his fingers into Ren’s tiny Speedo.  At this point, it had to be holding Ren’s length in by some form of pact with the Devil, because it shouldn’t have been possible.  “Dammit, Hux.”  Ren released a shuttering breath._

_“I don’t fuck losers, right?” Hux said, stroking Ren slowly._

_“This is blackmail,” Ren retorted, arching his body into Hux’s sure touch._

_“Whatever works,” Hux said, shrugging as he circled his thumb around the head of Ren’s cock._

_“Fuck,” Ren sighed, tipping his head back as Hux removed his hand and tucked Ren back into his bottoms._

_“Only if you focus,” Hux said, pulling himself out of the hot tub and grabbing his cloth to dry off while they waited for their first dive.  Ren didn’t get out of the tub until the first pair came back from the pool, using the couple of minutes to mediate._

_Ren was more relaxed as he followed Hux up to the 10 meter platform.  He breathed steadily as they stood at the back of the platform._

_“Nothing matters but me,” Hux said, looking over at Ren._

_Ren’s hair was tied back from his face in a messy bun, but a couple locks of hair hung in his eyes.  Hux reached over and tucked one behind his ear.  Ren gave him a small smile and nodded._

_“Good.  Let’s go,” Hux said, taking his hand back and walking to the end of the platform.  He was keenly aware that Ren mirrored his every movement._

_They both turned around and balanced on the balls of their feet with their heels off the end of the platform.  “Ready?” Hux asked._

_“Always,” Ren replied._

_“One, two, three, go…” Hux counted then used his knees and a bounce to push up and off the platform.  He folded his body into a pike position, then gradually unfolded himself as he leaned back to complete the backward half rotation on the somersault.  He brought his hands over his head and flattened his palms, breaking the water cleanly._

_He slowed himself and glanced at Ren as he kicked toward the wall.  Ren was smiling as he swam for Hux, grabbing his ankle lightly and squeezing.  Hux stepped up the stairs to get out of the pool, and Ren emerged beside him._

_They walked over to the showers and stood too close together for both of them to be under their own spray.  Hux’s palm found the small of Ren’s back when their score was announced, several perfect 10s in the mix._

_“What did I say?  You are perfectly capable when you stop fighting yourself,” Hux told him, patting Ren’s back before stepping away._

“Take your own goddamn advice,” Hux muttered as he stripped down and tugged on his too small blue Speedo.  At least, this year’s pair didn’t have the Union Jack painted across his crotch.  He’d outright refused to wear that pair when Snoke handed them to him.  He would’ve rather dove naked than had his dick pressing against the center of the damn flag.  

Hux reached down to adjust himself as he looked in the mirror.  He looked paler than usual which was entirely off putting.  

Closing his eyes, he tried to breathe in and out slowly.  He’d been here before.  He’d been so nervous during his first Olympics that he’d shaken until he climbed up to the springboard.  He’d done the best dives of his career that day, and he’d do so again today.  It didn’t matter that Ben was no longer with him.  Hux had made a name for himself all on his own.  He didn’t need a partner to hold his hand.

Running his fingers through his hair once, he stepped away from the mirror and walked out of the locker room to find Mitaka again.  He should probably apologize to the man for threatening to throw him off the platform, but that could be done later.  For now, all Hux was concerned with was competing to the best of his abilities.  

Mitaka was waiting for him near their coach, and Hux held himself tall as he walked over to them.

“What exactly did you think you were accomplishing last night?” Snoke sneered at Hux.

“Forgive me.  I was negligent,” Hux replied, holding his chin high and refusing to be scolded like a child.  Snoke was frightening, but he got results.  Hux had considered coaching himself after Ren left, but he’d been such a mess that he needed someone like Snoke to keep him focused.  Now though, it felt stifling.  

“Negligent doesn’t even begin to cover it.  You might as well have handed the Americans or the Chinese the gold medal.”

Hux glared at his coach.  “I assure you that is not the case,” he said.  

The crowd began cheering loudly, and Hux turned to see what was causing the commotion.  When he saw Ben and Poe by the side of the pool, he wished he hadn’t been so curious.

They were dancing...right in front of the whole stadium.  They shuffled their bare feet to the right as they did some ridiculous hand movement to go with it.  Poe was smoother, but Ben was just as into it as Poe was.  They were grinning like idiots as they started to move their hips and turn. Hux squinted at them. Were they dancing to _Single Ladies_?

Hux couldn’t tear his eyes away.  Ben shook his ass right alongside Poe, and the crowd was completely eating it up.

“Unprofessional,” Snoke said, crossing his arms.

“They’re keeping warmed up,” Mitaka said, watching as well but with far less emotion than Hux.

“They’re staying in synch.  It’s an exercise,” Hux said, voice flat.

_“Dance lessons?  I’m not taking dance lessons, Hux,” Ren complained as Hux drove down too narrow side streets._

_“It will help us,” Hux insisted.  He shifted gears as he took a tight turn and sped up along another narrow road._

_“You know what would also help?  Not dying in your tiny car.  Who the hell taught you to drive?” Ren asked, gripping the handle above the passenger’s door.  Ren was slightly too big for Hux’s Fiat, but Hux wasn’t about to buy a new car just because Ren was unreasonably large._

_“I taught myself how to drive.”_

_“Well, that explains everything.  Please teach yourself to use the break,” Ren retorted as Hux took another corner entirely too fast and entirely on purpose.  Hux didn’t know what he was complaining about.  Ren had told him that his father often illegally raced cars.  Surely, this wasn’t the most exciting drive he’d been on._

_“I won’t be told how to drive my own vehicle.  When you purchase your own, I will let you drive in peace,” Hux replied, breaking hard as he swerved into a tight spot._

_“Jesus Christ!” Ren shouted as they came to a halt just centimeters from the car parked in front of them._

_“As you can see, I grasp the concept of breaking,” Hux said, opening his door and stepping out of the car in front of the dance studio he’d looked up._

_“I’m going to drown you when I get the chance.”_

_Hux scoffed, stepping around the car and opening Ren’s door.  He tapped his foot until Ren slowly pulled himself out of the vehicle._

_“I still don’t get how ballroom dancing is going to help us win at diving,” Ren complained._

_“You have to follow your partner, trust them.  It’s the same exercise as trusting that I’ll dive correctly.  And, it will help us learn each other’s bodies,” Hux explained, pulling his gym bag out of the back of the car._

_“I think I know your body pretty well,” Ren said, leering at Hux’s ass as Hux straightened up._

_Hux gave him a withering look.  “You are a brute, Ren.  Try to pretend you have some class.”_

_He didn’t wait for Ren as he walked into the small studio.  He could hear Ren’s annoyed huff as his heavy boots fell into step with Hux’s own dress shoes.  Hux had told him to wear shoes for dancing in, but evidently Ren didn’t own any of those._

_Their teacher was an older woman with strict rules and no patience for Ren’s drama.  They butted heads almost as much as Hux and he butted heads._

_“Hold his waist as though you are cupping your lover's face, not like you as grabbing your groceries,” she chided when Ren would take the lead._

_It was one of the most stressful afternoons of Hux’s life, and he left the studio with more bruises than after his first practice on the platform. Ren was graceful when he wanted to be, but he hadn’t wanted to be that afternoon.  He argued every step, and then “accidentally” stomped on Hux’s toes no less than a dozen times._

_“That was pointless,” Ren said as they left the studio._

_“Get yourself sorted by next Wednesday because we have another lesson then,” Hux told him, slipping into the driver’s seat._

_“What?  Why?” Ren asked, sounding more like a whining child than a grown man._

_“I’ve already told you why!”_

_Ren grumbled the entire way home, but at least he didn’t complain about Hux’s driving._

_\---_

_“What the hell are you doing?” Ren asked as they waited for their turn to dive._

_Hux moved his body precisely to the dance they’d been learning that week.  He kept his feet mostly in place, but he loosened up his body by rolling his hips and moving his hands._

_"I’m keeping warmed up.”_

_"You look like an idiot,” Ren told him, crossing his arms._

_“Perhaps if you did it with me, I wouldn’t look as such since the whole point of it was that we’d know each other better and move together better,” Hux snapped, ceasing his movements._

“I _’m not going to look like an idiot,” Ren retorted._

_“You will when we get our asses kicked,” Hux said, walking away from him and climbing the stairs to the platform.  Ren was impossible to deal with about 99% of the time.  The other 1%, he was underwater and unable to speak._

_He could hear Ren huff behind him as he followed.  “Are you seriously mad at me about this?  It’s stupid!  We’re fine.  We don’t need to dance to be good divers,” Ren said._

_“Yes, thank you, Ren.  Why would I be angry with you when you call my attempts at being supportive and a good partner stupid?  I can’t imagine why I would be upset to have taken a partner that wants me to hold their hand then slaps it away when I comply,” Hux said, climbing the stairs with a stomp in his step._

_“Really?  This is you being a supportive partner?  Forcing me to do things I don’t want to?”_

_“We are not having this conversation one minute before we dive.  Do your breathing exercises and show me you can dive perfectly without any of my ideas,” Hux said, reaching the top of the stairs and waiting for Ren._

_Ren was scowling, but he didn’t say anything further._

Hux glared as Ben and Poe continued to dance, getting really into it. He grabbed his cloth from Snoke and stormed into the waiting area as far away from Ben as he could get.  It was typical Ben to fight Hux every step of the way then suddenly embrace it when it was too late.  

And the crowd.  Of course they would find it wonderful when Ben and Poe danced.  A camera had caught Hux dancing by the side of the pool several years ago, and the headlines had been vicious.  Remarks about not trying out for Dancing with the Stars when he was a hasbeen.  Comments about his body not being in the kind of shape the other divers were in.  Comments about how he scowled constantly.  It hadn’t been kind at all, but when Ben and Poe did it the press would call them charming and dreamy.

Hux twisted his cloth repeatedly.  Mitaka came to stand next to him, and handed him a bottle of water.  Hux took it and drank it down.  The dizziness had passed thankfully.  Now, he was just feeling miserable, but he could physically compete.

“Are you going to be able to focus?” Mitaka asked, sounding truly worried now.

“I am a professional.  I will be fine,” Hux told him, standing at attention as the first pair of divers were given the signal that they were about to begin.  Hux refused to let himself think about how Ren would have simply shooed him into the bathroom and blown him or gotten so close that Hux couldn’t focus on anything but him.

The more Hux thought about it, the more he realized that Ren had held him together just as much as he’d held Ren together.  He cursed under his breath and began stretching as Poe and Ren came back to the warm up room.

“You’ve really got moves, Solo,” Poe said, laughing as they found themselves a seat.

Hux balled his fists as he stretched even further.

“Don’t just shrug.  Where’d you learn to be smooth?”

“I take dance lessons,” Ben mumbled, and Hux almost fell over.  

“I need to piss,” Hux said to Mitaka as he straightened up and left the room.

“But we’re up in a minute…”

Hux walked out into the hall just to be away from everyone.  He breathed slowly, forcing himself to focus.  He could do this.  Mitaka was the only person that mattered right now.  Mitaka had never disappointed him.  Mitaka was an incredible diver, and he deserved gold.  Hux wasn’t going to fuck that up for him.

_Hux paced back and forth in his apartment.  Worlds were in a matter of days, and he’d been becoming more anxious as they approached.  He’d been bickering with Ren nonstop over the last few weeks.  They even bickered during sex at this point, and it had Hux on edge._

_Ren had stormed out over three hours ago after they’d argued about their most complicated dive.  Hux didn’t think it was ready, and he didn’t want to risk losing the competition by debuting it too soon.  Ren wanted to throw caution to the wind and do it.  Hux’s string of video evidence of their failed attempts only seemed to make Ren angry instead of showing him some sense._

_Now, Hux was anxious about Worlds and unreasonably worried about Ren.  Kylo didn’t have his own car, and it had been storming almost constantly since he’d left._

_Pacing was doing nothing for his nerves, and Hux had just about lost any bit of calm that he had.  He walked to the kitchen island and gripped the edge of it while staring at the bottle of champagne he’d bought for when they won.  He was tempted to call off the whole partnership and just get soused.  He felt foolish for thinking he could work with another person without driving them both mad._

_Hux barely heard the apartment door open and close as he stared down at the granite countertop.  He almost jumped as he felt a cold, damp arm wrap around his waist.  The other hand pried the fingers of his right hand off the countertop and held his hand gently._

_Hux leaned back, closing his eyes as he felt Kylo slowly swaying his hips.  “Where were you?” Hux rasped, unsure why he sounded like he might cry instead of shout._

“I _went to our dance lesson,” Ren said, pressing his lips to the back of Hux’s neck._

_“Why on earth would you do that?” Hux asked even as he let Ren guide them in the dance that he’d been refusing to learn for weeks.  They shuffled this way and that, Ren’s hand firmly around Hux’s waist while Hux rested his over the top and laced their fingers._

_“I want to do this dive, and I’ll do whatever it takes to be ready for it...and...I know it calms you down when you get anxious,” Ren whispered against the nape of Hux’s neck, then stepped back to twirl Hux before pulling him back this time chest to chest._

_“I don’t get anxious.”_

_“I’m not going to fight with you right now, but you’re a liar,” Ren said, pulling Hux closer so they had no choice but to move as one._

_“You aren’t bad at this.”_

_“I think I should lead on the dive.”_

_“I always lead.”_

_“And maybe it’s time to let me do it.  If we completely blow it at least we tried, but I think we’ll rock it,” Ren said, changing up the pace.  Hux immediately followed his lead, and he could feel Ren’s smirk against his skin._

_“You’ll catch a cold from playing out in the rain.”_

_“You should help me warm up,” Ren suggested, keeping his tone heavy with innuendo._

_“You should take a shower.  I need to go over our…”_

_“No.  You aren’t scrutinizing the video without me.  Shower with me, and we’ll go over the dive while we eat dinner.  You’re just going to get worked up over it if you do it alone.”_

_Hux sighed, letting Ren guide him around the kitchen instead of answering.  He tipped his head forward to rest it on Ren’s shoulder as they continued to move in unison._

“We’re up,” Mitaka called.  Hux nodded and followed him back out to the pool.  They climbed the stairs up to the platform side by side.  They held themselves the same and took the same strides.  They fit.  They made sense.

“Are you ready?” Hux asked when they got to the top of the stairs.

“Yes.”

“Breathe,” Hux said, taking a calming breath.  They walked to the end of the platform and stood arms length apart.

It was their simplest dive, a forward dive in the pike position with only half a rotation.  The first two dives were low scoring to show mastery of skill and synchronization.  Then they could start to get complicated.  Hux had never been so thankful for an easy dive being forced upon him as he was today.  He still wasn’t certain how his body was going to hold up, but he would push through this.

“One, two, three, go,” Hux said before they dove, bending at the waist to reach for their toes as they rotated forward.  They straightened out as one and entered the water.  Hux knew his entry was perfect as he shot right through until he slowed himself and swam toward the stairs at the side of the pool.

Hux went straight to the showers to rinse under the hot water, tipping his head back to push the hair out of his face and listening for their score.  He only felt a little shaky after that, but not much more than usual.  He always felt a little shaky after the first dive.  It just set the tone for the whole meet, and it was a relief when it was over.

When it came it was mostly 9s and 9.5s.  Hux was satisfied and patted Mitaka on the shoulder.  As he walked back toward the waiting area, he caught Ben watching him from the stairs.  Hux sneer at him as he walked purposefully out of sight.

However, he hung back again as Ben and Poe were announced.  He watched as they walked to the edge and stood arms length apart as well.  Poe counted them off.

“They look ridiculous.  Look at that height difference,” Hux complained as Mitaka stood next to him.

“You sound bitter.”

“They don’t work together.”

Mitaka shrugged as the American pair dove, completing the dive sufficiently, but Hux tore it apart in his head.  Ben was out too far, and he rotated his hips on entry.  Poe’s legs weren’t perfectly together.  He would have given them 7.5s.  They got 9s.  Hux was disgusted.  He walked back to wait for Round Two.

Each round was more tense than the one before it.  Hux and Mitaka were keeping the competition at bay, but it was clear they were the ones with the target on their backs.  Mitaka was friendly with everyone, steadier than Hux had seen him in months in fact.  However, Hux needed his space.  Each dive was a struggle to focus, to push everything else out of his mind.

People said it was lonely at the top of the platform, but Hux had never felt that until he’d climbed up there without Ren.  

Hux avoided everyone until Round Four.  At that point, he’d finally gotten a hold of himself. They were neck and neck with the Chinese pair, and Ben and Poe weren’t far enough behind that Hux could count them out yet.  

“How you feeling today, Hux?” Poe asked as they waited for their next turn.

Hux scowled at him, but Poe didn’t actually seem like he was taunting Hux.  Ben had his arms folded beside Poe, glaring at Hux as if daring him to answer.

“Feeling well enough to beat you and your mongrel,” Hux told him.

One of the German pair, who were sitting near them, choked on his water.  The other one’s eyes were wide enough to serve Christmas dinner on.  

Poe laughed even as Ben looked ready to lunge at Hux.  “Good to know you’re feeling better, man.  Finn was worried you’d choke to death in your sleep, but I assured him that you can’t kill the Devil,” Poe replied, still wearing that easy smile that made him popular with everyone.

Hux narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t rise to the bait.  “I hope you don’t see yourself as the Messiah, Poe.  Delusions of Grandeur aren’t healthy,” Hux retorted, running his cloth over his legs roughly to create a little heat so he wouldn’t tighten up.

Ben snorted.  “No one’s delusions are grander than yours, Hux,” Ben said, standing up and beginning to pace.

Hux knew that Ben got anxious when people didn’t rise to his bait.  He needed people to get as emotional as him, or he felt cornered.  Hux got anxious over competitions, keeping plans, dinner reservations, and things he felt he should be able to control but feared outside forces altering.  Ren was much simpler.  He got anxious when he didn’t think he could measure up.  

So, Hux smiled at him without allowing his comment to sting.  “Delusions, Ren?  I seem to remember that the only podium you’ve stood on top of I was beside you, and any other time I was looking down at you,” Hux said.

The German pair cursed in unison, and the Chinese pair’s eyebrows hitched up toward their hairline.  Mitaka looked like he might soil himself beside Hux, and Poe seemed like he was debating whether he should defend Ben or laugh.

Ben kicked one of the wire chairs and stormed out of the waiting area.  Served him right to think he would outwit Hux.  He could.  He often did actually, but Hux was miserable enough at the moment not to care what damage he did.  Ben was still conflicted about where they stood even though he’d got them to where they were.  He flopped between bitterness and the caring nature only Hux ever got to see.  It was a weakness.  Hux wasn’t conflicted anymore, wasn’t weak.  Every blow was going to be going for the kill.  

“Harsh,” Poe said when the door slammed behind Ben.

“He should be used to it.  I am a terror after all,” Hux said, leveling a very cold look at Poe.

“It’s just hype.  It was taken out of context,” Poe told him.

“That doesn’t matter when you have our history,” Hux repeated what he’d told Ben.

“He’s conflicted.”

Hux scoffed.  “I get conflicted over whether to have beef or chicken for dinner.  I don’t get conflicted over walking out and ruining my partner’s career.  He didn’t either.  He just left,” Hux said, standing up and stretching as he felt a chill set into his body.

Poe stood up and crowded very close to Hux.  Several other divers stood, probably thinking Poe would throw a punch, but Hux waved them off.  Poe could be rash, but he wouldn’t ruin his chances at medaling over this.

“It was out of his hands, Hux.  You don’t know the half of it, and you should before you throw him to the lions.”

“He had his chance.”

“It’s never that simple.”

“It has to be.  Excuse me,” Hux said walking out and over to the hot tub.  Of course, that was where Ben had gone.  He was sitting with his back to Hux and his head tipped down toward the warm water.

Hux cursed his luck as he walked over to the other tub.  He didn’t want to be near Ben—the feeling was mutual, he was sure—but he needed to keep his muscles warm.  He wasn’t getting any younger, and he’d noticed he tightened up up much quicker than he used to.

“Leave me alone, Dameron,” Ben said, rolling his shoulders but not glancing at Hux.  “I told you he won’t listen to me.”

“Not Dameron, and all you said to me was that I was full of myself,” Hux said, settling into the other tub.

Ben whipped his head around to glare at Hux.  “Can I not have space either?”

“I need to warm up my legs,” Hux said matter of fact.  He wasn’t looking for another fight.  He wouldn’t have gotten into the first one if Poe hadn’t brought up the night before.

“You’re old,” Ben said, sounding like he wasn’t sure if he was going for cruel or fond.

“Yes, forcing your body to learn new thing in a short period of time and pushing it to the brink speeds that up,” Hux replied, sighing as the warm water loosened him up.

“Maybe you should retire,” Ben told him.

Hux didn’t say anything when Ben got out of the tub and headed for the platform.  Hux watched on the monitor as they were announce and headed for the end of the platform.  It was their most difficult dive, but it was one Hux and Ben could’ve performed in their sleep.  

“You’re too close to him, move over,” Hux muttered as Ben and Poe took their positions at the end of the platform—backs facing the pool.  Hux leaned forward to study their form as Poe counted up before they jumped.  

“What are you doing?” Hux demanded of the screen, watching Ben jump too far out and throw off the whole timing of the sequence.  Hux cringed as he clearly saw both men twisting at different times before lying back and diving into the water.  Ben’s splash was too big.

Poe popped up immediately, but Ben didn’t.  Hux stared at the screen waiting for Ben to emerge, but all he saw was a fury of bubbles.

“Fuck.”

_Hux stood on the side of the pool waiting for Ren to do his dive.  Practice seemed to go on forever as they both attempted to master new skills separately.  They’d both been getting frustrated, but they kept making tweaks and diving again._

_Ren had been on the verge of a meltdown for over an hour, but Snoke kept pushing.  He refused to let them stop until he was satisfied, and that was only fanning Ren’s frustrations._

_“Hurry up, boy.  The pool isn’t going to come to you.  You’re wasting time,” Snoke shouted up at Ren who hadn’t approached the starting position._

_“Take your time.  Ignore the old man,” Hux mumbled as he stood beside the pool watching Ren._

_Ren began to pace.  He did that sometimes when he was visualizing.  At first it had annoyed Hux, but he’d gotten used to it.  Hux had his own quirks._

_“Ren!”_

_Ren jerked, striding to the end of the platform.  “Ren, wait.  I’ll come up,” Hux shouted, but it was too late._

_Ren nodded and jumped.  He didn’t get enough distance.  Hux could see it immediately.  His eye widened as Ren’s head just missed grazing the platform by so little that his wild hair brushed against it, but then his legs followed through, and Hux couldn’t tell if the crack he heard was just in his head._

_He was running toward the steps of the pool before Ren even hit the water.  Hux dove in, ignoring Snoke’s shouting.  He didn’t focus on anything but Ren, who was thrashing beneath the surface but not moving in the right direction._

_Hux wrapped his arms around Ren’s waist and swam with him to the surface.  Ren was cursing as they made it to the stairs.  He was kicking with his right leg, but his left was dead weight, and his hands were gripping Hux’s sides for dear life._

_“What the hell was that?” Snoke demanded as Hux got Ren settled on the top step, so he could check Ren’s ankle and foot._

_Ren hung his head like a misbehaving dog as Snoke shouted._

_“Now is not the time,” Hux hissed at his long time coach.  Snoke used to coach more people than just Hux, but he’d been suspended and fined for unhealthy coaching techniques.  No one wanted to work with Snoke these days.  Hux did because Hux didn’t care what he put himself through, so long as he got results.  However, he wouldn’t watch Snoke destroy his partner._

_“He is not performing to the degr—”_

_“We are finished today.  Either call for help or leave,” Hux told him, allowing Ren to squeeze his wrist painfully hard._

_“I can get it.  I just need help getting up…”_

_“Shut up,” Hux told Ren once Snoke had thrown his arms up and stormed out._

_“I know what I did wrong,” Ren said as Hux carefully lifted his foot out of the water.  It didn’t look good.  It was already swelling, and it was at an odd angle.  Nothing grotesque, but not normal either._

_“Wonderful, and you’ll have six to eight weeks as well as months of physical therapy to work through it,” Hux told him, holding his leg steady as he carefully touched Ren’s ankle._

_Ren gritted his teeth, but he didn’t cry out or show any sign of pain other than tensing up.  “I’m going to help you to the locker room, we’ll get you dressed, and I’ll take you to the doctor,” Hux told him, gently lowering Ren’s ankle._

_“It’s nothing,” Ren insisted._

_“I just lost several years of my life thinking you were going to crack your skull on that platform.  Do_ not _tell me it was nothing.  You know nothing.  Now, tell me if you get dizzy or feel pain,” Hux said, getting behind Ren and slipping his hands under Ren’s armpits._

_“You’re worried about me,” Ren said, sounding like it was strange._

_“Of course,” Hux retorted.  He couldn’t even pretend this was about competition.  They were in their off season and just working on new dives.  They didn’t have a competition for months._

_“Why?”_

_“You could’ve died, Kylo!” Hux said, stopping himself from shouting.  That wouldn’t do any good.  Ren got to his feet with Hux’s help, and he tried to put weight on his injured foot but Hux smacked him on the back._

_“It’s just a sprain.”_

_It wasn’t just a sprain.  It had been a fairly extensive break that had required surgery which Hux had paid for since Ren was broke and his insurance was a mess.  Hux had insisted Ren move into his apartment after that because Ren lived in a cramped walkup.  Hux had an elevator and a spare room.  Ren never slept in the spare room, and he never moved out.  Though he didn’t officially move in until the wedding._

Hux practically vaulted over the side of the hot tub.  He tore around the partition and sprinted for the pool, stumbling as Ben surfaced with an angry roar.  Hux stumbled at Ben’s sudden emergence and fell awkwardly at Poe’s feet as Poe stepped up out of the pool.  Hux’s mind caught up with his legs then, and he realized he’d made a fool of himself.  He also realized that the awkward fall had strained something in his leg as a dull ache radiated down his thigh.

“Whoa there.  Where you going in such a hurry?” Poe asked, reaching down to help Hux off the deck.  “He does that when he has a bad dive.  Gets the yelling out before he gets out of the pool,” Poe explained, hitching his thumb over his shoulder to point at Ben.

Ben was coming up the steps with a deep scowl.  Hux scrambled to his feet, feeling foolish. “Good dive,” he said awkwardly, hurrying away.  He tried to hide the slight limp he had from falling and skidding across the tile, but the pain was just insult on top of the ding to his pride.  He could feel both men’s eyes on him as he hobbled away as fast as he could.

“You ready?” Mitaka asked, waiting for him at the stairs, and thankfully keeping any comments to himself.

Hux looked back at Poe and Ben who were standing beneath the hot spray of the showers.  Ben was banging his fist against the wall as he stood there.  The water washed down his back, and Hux’s eyes couldn’t help but follow the little droplets down his muscular shoulders and over the expanse of his spine to the KT tape he always wore at the small of his back to cover the offensive tattoo he'd seen fit to get in his rebellious youth.

_“Ren why does your back say ‘DIVE IN’ with an arrow pointing at your ass?” Hux asked in horror as he stood behind Ren, helping him stretch. His shirt had ridden up as he reached for his toes, and Hux had nearly been blinded by the awful ink. It was bold and in all caps, and Hux was actually offended by its existence...especially on a back so beautiful as Ren's._

_“I have a tattoo,” Ren said as though that explained it._

_“Yes, I'm aware that it is a tattoo. I'm more concerned with why it is a tattoo and more importantly why it is your tattoo,” Hux said, wondering if he could go back on the deal to be partners.  He did not want to associate, never mind work closely, with a man that got a tattoo essentially inviting anal on his back._

_“I wanted it?”_

_“But why?”_

“I _t seemed cool at the time. You should have seen my father's face when he saw it the first time. I think he was more pissed than when I keyed his favorite car because missed my fourteenth birthday party for some classic car show,” Ren said, looking over his shoulder at Hux._

_“But...it's awful.”  Hux couldn’t lie.  The tattoo was trashy in the worst way, and it stood out since Ren had no other’s near it to distract from it._

_“I like it,” Ren told him._

_“Why haven't I seen it before?” Hux asked, running his fingers over the inked skin. Ren shuddered at the touch._

_“I tape it up. I'm pretty sure I'd be in a lot of trouble in the judges or anyone saw it. I'm not stupid,” Ren told him. Hux disagreed, but it wasn't his body.  He promised himself that he’d have Ren tape it up if they ever had anal.  He couldn’t look at that while fucking Ren.  It was just too much._

“Of course, I'm ready,” Hux said, tearing his eyes away from Ben before he could get a good look at his ass.  He didn’t need that kind of distraction right now.  He did, however, glance at Ben’s ankle where a faded scar lay.  Ben was fine though, even if he was frustrated with his dive.

Hux listened to the score of the pair before them as they got to the waiting platform.  They didn’t do well either.  He tried to focus on his own dive instead.  He went through his usual routine of clearing his mnd of everything but the dive at hand.  He slowed his breathing and visualized.

Mitaka walked beside him, ready as ever to prove his worth.  They stepped to the edge of the platform and Hux looked down at the water.  He never looked down when he got up there; it was bad luck.

However, he looked and couldn’t stop the thought that they were up too high from entering his mind.  He quashed it down, but the not quite crystalline water loomed before him.  One wrong move, and he’d been done for.  No one would rush in to pull him out.  They’d probably let him sink to the bottom and leave him there.  He was truly alone.

“Hux, we need to dive,” Mitaka whispered out of the side of his mouth.

Hux squeezed his eyes closed.  He wouldn’t let Ben’s words get to him now of all times.  He couldn’t let Ben win like that.  “Ready?” Hux asked.

“Yes,” Mitaka said dutifully.

“One, two, three, go,” Hux said before pushing off and jumping into a twist.  He knew it wasn’t going to be a fantastic dive as they twisted in the air, one arm brought up to his head and the other crossed over his body.

He held himself together through the entry, but it was nowhere near their best.  Hux felt like screaming too as he swam toward the steps, but he kept himself in check.

As he stepped out of the water, his eyes caught Ben standing by the partition to the hot tubs.  He watched Hux as he got out of the pool, but it wasn’t with a scowl.  He was doing just as Hux had done with him, ready if something went wrong.  Maybe he wasn’t alone, but more likely it was habit.  They’d been watching out for each other for years.  Habit was harder to break than a heart.  Sometimes Hux believed his body would keep going out of habit even after his heart stopped beating.  He felt the same about Ben.  

Ben disappeared behind the partition before Hux could say anything.  He wanted to, but he didn’t know what would be appropriate.  

It took Mitaka groaning for him to realize that their scores were being announced, and they weren’t good.  It wasn’t catastrophic, but it did open things up.  Hux shook his head as he watched the replay on the monitor.  They probably didn’t even deserve the 8s and 8.5s they got.  Thankfully, it was a difficult dive, and their score still reflected that.

“Not good at all,” Hux said to Mitaka as he sank into the hot tub.  His leg was bothering him.  He didn’t know if it was from the fall or just tightening up from not staying active enough between dives.  He told himself that it couldn’t affect their next dive if they were going to win.

Round Five turned out to be a mess for everyone.  Hux would have blamed it on his public argument with Poe and Ren, but even pairs that hadn’t been in the room were not performing well.  One pair scored a zero when they did two completely different dives.  It was an embarrassment for Olympic finals.

The Chinese pair was solid though, and Hux felt his anxiety spike as he watched their score inch past his own.  “Unacceptable,” Hux muttered as he stood beside Mitaka.

“We can still beat them,” Dopheld assured him, but Hux didn’t know.  Nothing had been certain since Ren left.  

When their final dive came and passed, Hux felt defeat.  They had done well.  They had scraped together a near perfect dive, but they’d needed the Round Five score to be something it was not.  

Hux felt the weight of his failures as they were announced as silver medalists.  Ben and Poe finished in third, and they seemed happy as could be.  Mitaka seemed ecstatic as well if his tears were anything to go by.  

Hux felt like the only person in the arena who wasn’t celebrating.  Everyone around him seemed to move in slow motion as he stared up at the platform.  This was supposed to be when he showed that he was king.  Instead, this had tarnished his perfect record.

Hux flinched when a hand patted him on the back.  “Good job, man.  Impressive diving for a guy with a massive stick up his ass,” Poe congratulated them.

“Yes, you dove proficiently as well,” Hux replied, trying to smile. He knew he looked more like he was in pain than like he was congratulating anyone.

Hux’s eyes locked with Ben’s, but Ben kept his distance.  Now would be the time for a sharp remark or a well deserved jab.  However, Ben didn’t say anything.  He just waited for Poe then walked over to the press.

Hux followed suit, knowing there was no escaping the round of questioning as to how it felt to be a silver medalist.  It felt like crap, but Hux wasn’t allowed to say that.

“Dopheld, how does it feel to be a silver medalist at your first Olympics?” one woman asked as they got close.

Mitaka beamed at her.  “It’s incredible.  This has been my dream since I was a boy, and to get to be here with Tage is just amazing.  I’m so grateful that he chose me to partner with.  I feel so blessed,” Mitaka told her, throwing his arm around Hux’s shoulder.  Hux knew it was to keep him focused more than it was a show of camaraderie.  It was good though.  It would look good in the press.

“Armitage, how was it to come out here after the shake up with partners and the continued scrutiny toward your coach?  Does this feel like vindication?”

Hux frowned.  Vindication?  Far from it. This was failure.  “It feels like we need to work on our timing more.  We shouldn’t have slipped in Round Five.  I take responsibility for that, and certainly won’t happen again,” Hux said, ignoring Doph’s subtle jabs to his ribs.

“But what about the feud between you and Ben Solo?  The whole arena gets a little chilly when the two of you see each other,” she pressed.  Hux hated this sort of fishing.  None of the press had any clue what happened between them.  Hux didn’t either if Poe was to be believed.  

“We were partners.  You get to know someone very well when you compete together.  Even when a partnership is ended for good reasons, it is not easy.  He is American, and I am British.  It is as simple as that.  Any tension you see is simply two people who were used to working together figuring out how to be competitors,” Hux said calmly.  He’d practiced that answer for months.  He refused to play into the media’s need for a story.  If Ben did, that was on him.  Hux kept his personal life out of the papers, and as much as he claimed otherwise, Ren’s betrayal was deeply personal.

“Are you happy to take the silver over his bronze?”

“We’re happy to medal,” Mitaka interjected before Hux could lunge at her.  “All of the divers have worked so hard to get here that—”

The woman seemed bored with that answer and flagged down the Chinese pair that had stolen their gold.

They gave half a dozen more interviews before they could get out of the Aquatic Center.  That was worse though because Snoke was on a rampage.  

“That was pathetic!  You deserved to lose with that crock of shit you called a fifth dive,” Snoke yelled in locker room as Hux finally got his leg looked at by a trainer.  

“Everyone had a bad dive,” Mitaka said.

“You aren’t everyone.  You are my divers.  You don’t have bad dives,” Snoke told him, eyes wild.

“We did.  It’s over.  I have two more events to focus on, and Mitaka has one.  We need to concentrate on that instead of something that can’t be changed,” Hux said, wincing as the trainer manipulated his leg.  

“I want you in the gym two hours before practice,” Snoke told them.  Hux ignored him as the trainer taped him up and told him to take it easy for the next day or so.

\---

“You okay?” Mitaka asked when they were alone in the cab back to their room.  

“That was a disappointment.  You were right.  I let my mind get in the way,” Hux said, rubbing at his aching thigh.

“Hux, I’m over the moon about getting silver.  You would be too if you allowed yourself to be,” Mitaka told him.  “I know you think I’m soft, but silver isn’t failure. Honestly, making it to the finals would have been enough.  It will be enough if I make it to the finals in the solo platform.”

Hux sighed.  “It’s never worked that way for me.  Failure is unacceptable,” Hux told him, though a part of the pressure on his shoulders lifted knowing that Mitaka wasn’t disappointed in winning silver.

“What do you want for dinner?” Mitaka asked as they stepped out of the cab.

“Get what you want.  I’m going to take a walk,” Hux said, pulling his wallet out of his gym bag and removing several large bills and holding them out to Mitaka.

“I don’t need your money,” Mitaka told him.

Hux gave him a sharp look.  “Get something nice on me.”  Mitaka’s shoulders slumped.  He took the money with a small thank you.

“We should be celebrating,” Mitaka said, tucking the cash into his pocket.

“Not tonight.  I just need to decompress,” Hux said, walking through to the elevator.

“Okay, but before we go back,” Mitaka said.  

“Before we go back,” Hux agreed.  He went to their room and dropped his bag.  He took a bottle of water and left.

He wandered around the Village for hours just trying to slow his racing mind.  He replayed the dive that lost it for them over and over in his head.  He knew what the problem was, but he didn’t want to admit it to himself.

He grabbed a snack from one of the street vendors.  It went against his diet plan, but he couldn’t be bothered to find a restaurant that served what he was supposed to be eating.  He didn’t want to be near people, and sitting in a restaurant for over an hour sounded like a level of Hell.

He he took his food and headed for the only place he could think of that would be quiet at this hour. This time it was him that offered the guard a handjob for access.  Hux wiped his hand clean on his handkerchief as he walked through the back entrance of the building and down through the corridors.  He tossed the white square of fabric in the trash as he got to the dark, open pool area.

Slowly, he climbed the stairs to the 10 meter platform and sat down on the end of it, feet dangling over the water. He spread out his food and began to eat his greasy meal.

It was harder to ignore the truth when he wasn’t moving.  Habit.  It always came down to it.

No matter how hard he tried, he was still diving with Ren.  His timing, his distance from the platform, his rituals; they were all remnants of his time with Ren.  Mitaka tried to adapt, but it was impossible to replicate Ren’s dives.  The man towered over the competition.  He was more heavily muscled than most, and he had more power than any diver Hux had ever seen.  The fact that Hux had been able to work with him in the first place was incredible.  Now though, it was an impossible habit to break.

He removed his phone from his pocket and searched for coverage of their final.  It wasn’t hard to find, and he watched the small screen as the commentators spoke about the competitors.

“Excellent group of divers we have for this final.  Armitage Hux has dominated the solo events for the last decade, but can he have the same success with a partner?” a woman from his own country asked her partner.

Hux rolled his eyes.  They were always sensationalizing everything.

“I think it’s going to be very tough, Brenda.  Hux has been at the middle of controversy all year, starting with the mysterious dissolution of his partnership with Ben Solo.”

“Speaking of Ben Solo, he looks better than ever with his new partner, Poe Dameron.  But I’m still dying to know what happened between him and Hux.  Hux and Dameron have been rivals in the solos for years.  Things had to have ended badly for Ben to do this,” the woman said, once again looking to her partner for input.

“Absolutely.  There is nothing simple about that situation.  Hux had been openly vocal about staying solo before...well before Solo came along.”

Hux nearly gagged at the awful banter, choosing to fast forward to the actual competition until he caught Poe and Ben dancing.  He went back and played the segment.

“Look at them getting excited,” the man said as Ben moved his hips seductively at the same time as Poe.  “It’s good to see divers that are out here having a great time not just worried about medals.”

“They’re not the only ones getting excited,” the woman said, and Hux felt secondhand embarrassment as she fanned herself.  “Look at those bodies.  How long do you think he spends in the gym?”

Hux hit the mute button as he watched Ben continue to move with Poe in a playful dance.  It was as though all of the tension he used to carry with him had dissolved with the termination of their partnership.  Ben was happy, he was playful, and he was diving well.

Hux turned off his screen, looking out at the dark water below him—his food forgotten.

“You’re missing out.  You were just getting to the part where Poe and I started grinding,” Ben’s voice came from behind him, but Hux didn’t bother to turn.

“You should be celebrating with Dameron,” Hux said, considering chucking his phone into the water and denying he’d been watching anything.

“Poe’s making an early night of it.  His boyfriend competes tomorrow,” Ben said, keeping his distance.  

“How admirable of him,” Hux retorted, bringing his phone to life again and fast forwarding to his third round dive.  “What are you doing here, Ben?” Hux asked when Ben made no move to get closer or leave.

“We saw Mitaka at dinner without you,” Ben said.

“And?”

“And you shouldn’t be alone right now,” Ben told him, inching closer.

Hux laughed.  “I didn’t loose my mother, Ben.  You act as though I’m going to do something drastic because I got silver,” Hux scoffed, pausing the video again.

“You’re hypercritical of yourself.  You shouldn’t be sitting here all night, replaying your dives until it makes you sick.”

“And you should be the one to stop me from doing that?”

“I don’t see your coach or partner here to do it.”

“Go away, Ben,” Hux told him sharply.

“I’m not leaving your here to tear yourself up.”

“Stop it!” Hux hissed, turning enough to get a good look at Ben.  He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans as well as those awful black boots he favored.  He looked like the old Ren.  Even his hair was hanging down around his face instead of in a messy bun.  Hux’s chest ached.  “I can’t deal with you acting bitter over something you caused one minute then acting like...acting like you care the next.”

“I do care,” Ben insisted, striding forward now.

“You didn’t care when you walked out on me without an explanation.  You don’t get to pretend now.  We were partners, nothing more.  Our partnership ended.  There’s no reason for you to come check on me,” Hux said, standing up because he wanted to get away from Ben.

“I didn’t want to leave, but...if I stayed and…” Ben paused, looking completely unsure of himself.  This was the man Hux remembered.  The man who was likely the best in the world but crippled by his fear of never measuring up.  “I needed to leave, Hux.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to face you and still leave.  I wanted to compete with you more than anything—”

“Clearly not,” Hux interjected.

“I needed to go, Hux!  If you’d just listen…”

“It’s over, Ben.  I can’t keep devoting energy to something that I have no control over.  Right now, I have videos to watch,” Hux said, trying to pass Ben, but Ben reached out and grabbed him.

“Hux, please just listen…”

“I can’t afford the distraction right now.”

Ben lowered his head in defeat, but he didn’t let go of Hux.  “Okay,” he agreed.

“What are you doing, Ben?” Hux asked, trying to step out of his embrace.

“I’m not letting you stay up alone all night watching those videos, I told you that already,” he replied, pulling Hux closer to his body.

_“Ben—_ ”

Hux was cut off from making a sharp reply by Ben’s lips.  It was shocking.  They were just as soft and plush as Hux remembered.  Ben wasn’t gentle though.  He held Hux securely against his body, pressing his tongue against the barrier of Hux’s lips and nipping when Hux didn’t immediately give way.

Hux nipped back.  He couldn’t deny himself.  Ben had always been refreshing.  He was wild and never held back.  

Ben gripped the hair at the base of Hux’s skull, tugging it gently.  Hux tipped his head back, finally granting Ben access.  Ben wasted no time slipping his tongue forward, at the same time he ran his hand down Hux’s spine only to settle it on his ass.

Hux retaliated by grabbing Ren’s ass as well.  Ren nipped him again, before pressing his tongue into Hux’s mouth.  

Hux squeezed his ass before slapping Ben and pulling back for air.  “I thought I said I never wanted to speak to you again,” Hux said, gripping Ben as though afraid that Ben might actually let him go.

“If we’re kissing you don’t have to listen to me, and I don’t have to worry about your making yourself sick watching your dives on repeat,” Ben told him, running his fingers through Hux’s hair to mess it up.  Hux tried to swat Ben’s fingers away, but Ben tugged the strands out of their styling.

Hux opened his mouth, but Ben beat him to responding.

“I saw you today.  I didn’t come up right away because I was upset with myself, but when I did you were there ready to come in after me.  Don’t try to tell me you don’t care.  Don’t try to pretend it was just a partnership.”

Ben grabbed Hux’s hand, and before Hux could pull his hand away, Ben was shoving a gold ring onto his middle finger.  It was big on him, but that didn’t matter.

“I hate you,” Hux told him, twisting the ring on his finger.

“I know,” Ben chuckled, pressing his nose to Hux’s temple.

“I melted mine down,” Hux admitted.

“You can borrow mine,” Ben told him, kissing his jaw.

“I’m still going to kick your ass in the solo competition, and I don’t fuck losers,” Hux retorted.  It was easy to forget his anger and frustration when Ben was in front of him, demanding all of his attention and pushing away the self doubt and self loathing.

“We better fuck now then.  You aren’t a winner right now,” Ren said.  

“Ben.”

“Stop saying it.  I don’t want to hear it from you,” Ben said, pressing his face against Hux’s neck.

“It’s your name.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head against Hux’s skin.  

“No?” Hux buried his fingers in Ben’s hair.

“ _Hux_ ,” he said, pressing impossibly closer.

Hux sighed.  “Ren,” he said, combing his fingers through the wild mane of hair.

Ren kissed his neck so softly then bit him.  Hux pulled his hair instinctively, causing Ren to moan.

Hux repeated his name, pulling his hair tightly.

“Please.  Even if nothing changes, can we have tonight?” Ren asked between lavishing kisses and nips along Hux’s throat.

“It’s the last Olympics all over again; you corner me, come prematurely, and convince me to do something stupid,” Hux complained, dropping his hands to undo Ren’s belt.

“I’ll let you come on my chest,” Ren said, gripping Hux’s shirt and tugging it up.

“So magnanimous of you, Ren,” Hux retorted, shoving Ren’s pants down as soon as he got them open.  He palmed Ren’s erection through his boxer-briefs, remembering the exact amount of pressure to get Ren whimpering.

Hux stopped long enough to let Ren remove his shirt completely then returned the favor, practically tearing the thin fabric of Ren’s t-shirt.

Hux hated that he was more exhilarated to touch Ren’s skin again than he had been throughout the competition.  The problem was synchro had always been about Ren.  There was no severing the two.  It was about Ren’s body, the way he moved, what made him tick, and what made him break down.  Hux had learned Ren down to his very soul in the process, and as much as he couldn’t admit it aloud, there was no simple way of severing that connection.

“You’re thinking too much,” Ren said, teasing Hux’s nipple.

“Shut up, I’m not thinking of anything but making you come,” Hux retorted.

“Whatever you say,” Ren said, picking Hux up off his feet and kissing him roughly.  Hux wrapped his legs around Ren’s waist and allowed Ren to bring them to the platform.  It wasn’t comfortable, but Hux wasn’t concerned about that.

He rolled them so that Ren was on his back, and Hux straddled him.  He pressed his palm to Ren’s chest to keep him there, and he shoved his hand into Ren’s underwear.

Hux made a thoughtful hum as he stroked Ren roughly.

“What?” Ren panted, lifting his hips to thrust into Hux’s fist.

“Not as big as I remember…”

“Fuck you,” Ren said, wrapping his legs around Hux and pulling him forward until he fell across Ren’s body.  “Suck it.  Tell me how disappointing it is while you choke on it,” Ren said, wrestling Hux down toward his cock.

“You’d love that, you filthy brute,” Hux teased him as he continued to stroke Ren. The banter came back too easily just like everything else.

“Fuck.  There are condoms and lube in my pants.  Can’t reach them,” Ren groaned as Hux teased the head of his cock.

“You were certainly being presumptuous,” Hux replied, using his other hand to dig through Ren’s pockets.  He came away with Ren’s wallet and more condoms and lube than he knew what to do with.

“I want the wallet back,” Ren told him, lifting his hips so Hux could remove his underwear.

“That’s collateral.”

Ren grumbled, but Hux distracted him with his hands.  Hux looked down at Ren who lay bare before him, cock too heavy to stand straight up.  His chest was heaving from excitement, and his hair was a messy halo around his head.  Hux bit his lip just watching him under the stars over the Aquatic Center.

“Hux, come on, I’m gonna need more than a stern look,” Ben complained when Hux didn’t get on with it.

“That’s all it ever took in the past,” Hux retorted, running his fingertips down Ren’s belly and over the curls above his thick cock.  

“Well, it’s been a year.  I’m gonna need more than that,” Ren continued.

“What do you want?” Hux asked, running his palms over Ren’s strong thighs.  He loved Ren’s legs.  The power he had in them was breathtaking, and Hux never felt so good as when Ren wrapped them around him tightly.

“Fuck me,” Ren begged.

“Not before competition,” Hux insisted.  There was too much room for error, pulled muscles, soreness, infection.  Hux had strict rules about penetration prior to competition.  

“Please.”

“Pick again,” Hux told him, picking up the lube and tearing it open and pouring it over Ren’s cock.  He followed it with his eyes as it ran down the length of Ren.  

“Just get over here and do _something_ ,” Ren insisted, pulling on Hux’s arm.

Hux opened his own pants and shoved them down his thighs before lying over Ren and rubbing their cocks together.

“That’s good, harder,” Ren said, shifting his hips up to press against Hux’s.  Hux rocked back and forth to build friction as he leaned down to kiss Ren again.  

Ren didn’t disappoint, meeting Hux hungrily.  They continued to move against each other even as they paused to breathe.  

“I missed this,” Ren told him.

Hux nodded, unable to say the words aloud for fear of this not being real.  He kissed Ren again before getting off of Ren and rolling him onto his stomach.  “Knees,” Hux insisted.  He grabbed articles of clothing and shoved them under Ren’s knees before spreading his ass and pressing his lips against him.

“Dammit, Hux,” Ren groaned, searching for purchase on the flat platform.  He managed to reach one of the rails on the side of the platform and gripped it for dear life as Hux dipped his tongue into him.  “Shit.”

Hux smirked as he pressed his tongue harder against Ren’s ass, pulling back just enough to suckle gently at the skin around his hole.  He gripped Ren’s cheeks tighter as he pressed forward again, entering him with the tip of his tongue.

As he continued to slowly work Ren open with his mouth, he reached through his legs and wrapped his hand around Ren’s cock.

Ren whimpered as he adjusted his hips, trying to fuck Hux’s hand while also pressing back against his mouth.  

Hux was ridiculously turned on to see Ren coming apart at the seams from this.  Ren was still trying to get a grip on the surface of the platform and just scratching at it instead.  The sounds he made every time Hux pushed into him with his tongue were intoxicating.  Ren was never quiet, and vaguely Hux hoped they didn’t get caught because of it.

Hux pulled back for a moment to catch his breath and to get a good look at Ren from this angle.  His thighs looked particularly good this way, and Hux gripped his own cock.  He stroked it as he watched Ren moaning in front of him, moving his hips in search of Hux’s touch. Ren's tattoo stood out on the small of his back, taunting Hux to just “dive in.”

Lifting his hand, Hux slapped Ren’s cheek and watched the muscle jiggle at the abuse.  Ren moaned louder, increasing his movements.  Hux sped up his own hand as he hit Ren again, then lunging forward and biting the meat of his ass.  

Ren cried out, reaching down to grip himself.  Hux grabbed the sachets of lube and tore one open with his teeth before pouring it directly down the crack of Ren’s ass.  That elicited another moan from Ren.

Hux trailed his finger through the slick then pressed into him with his index finger.  Ren’s hips jerked before he pressed back onto Hux’s finger.

“More,” Ren begged, but Hux took his time sliding his finger in slowly then pulling it back just as slowly.

“Patience.”

Ren made a frustrated noise, and Hux laughed.  He leaned forward and began using his tongue again as well.

“You look good like this,” Hux said between thrusts of his tongue.  Ren seemed beyond words as he thighs quivered and his hips jerked.

“So close,” Ren slurred as Hux pressed two fingers into him, spreading them far enough to slide his tongue between them.  Ren cried out as Hux pushed it as far in as he could.  

“Come for me,” Hux told him, pressing his fingers deeper and crooking them in search.

Ren choked, hips jerking violently, and Hux could see his balls tighten in release from this angle.  He smiled as he wrapped his arm around Ren’s hips to keep him from falling over.  He continued fucking him with his fingers until he stopped shaking.

When Ren was panting quietly, Hux rose to his knees and stroked himself.  He was still right behind Ren who had moved back to rest his ass on his heels.  Hux stroked himself right over the small of Ren’s back where his atrocious tattoo rested.

“Flithy,” Hux muttered as he tightened his grip and teased the head of his cock on each stroke.  He felt his own body tighten, and he came all over the tasteless tattoo.  Hux braced himself on Ren’s back as he stroked until the last dribble dropped onto Ren’s skin. Hux smeared it around with his fingers before pushing Ren over onto his back again. He was disgusted with himself that he found the stupid ink rather hot in the heat of the moment.  

Ren gazed up at him with affection as Hux straddled his hips.  He brought his fingers to Ren’s lips and Ren immediately began to suck on them and clean away Hux’s come.  Hux moaned as he watched Ren suckle his middle finger hungrily, running his tongue over the ring he’d placed on Hux’s finger.

Hux sighed as he collapsed on top of Ren completely exhausted.  Ren wrapped his arms around him and kissed the top of Hux’s sweaty head.  

“Fucking you is much better than talking to you,” Hux said as they just laid there, attempting to collect themselves.

“It goes both ways,” Ren retorted, rubbing Hux’s back.

“You’re holding back with Poe,” Hux said, and Ren snorted.

“That sounds a lot like talking, Hux.”

“It’s the truth, and you should hear it,” Hux insisted.

Ren sighed, but he didn’t stop rubbing Hux’s back and shoulders.  “It’s synchro.  It isn’t holding back, it’s working to each other’s strengths.  You wouldn’t know about that.  We just both worked to impossible standards.”

“We were the best.”

“Yeah, we were.  I’d love to dive with you again.”

“Yes, well I don’t see that happening,” Hux said, trying to hold back the disappointment in his voice.

Ren didn’t say anything for a moment, then he started to move.  “Come on,” he said, tugging Hux up.  Ren pushed his pants off his left ankle and quickly tugged off Hux’s slacks, leaving his briefs.

“What are you doing?”

“Diving.  Come on.”

“Put your damn underwear on you idiot,” Hux told him, picking them up and shoving them at Ren. Even with an aching leg and a list of reservations a mile long, Hux couldn't force himself to deny Ren just one more dive.

Ren sighed heavily, but he listened to Hux.  Then he dragged Hux toward the end of the platform.  Hux breathed slowly, letting his body remember Ren, but before they made it to the starting position, Ren grabbed him about the waist and began to lead him in a slow dance.

“What is this?”

“Just settling some nerves,” Ren told him, kissing Hux’s neck again.  Hux huffed out a breath, but he let their movements synch up and followed Ren’s lead.  “We’re at the Olympics, going into our final dive.  Backward, 2 ½ somersault, 2 ½ twists, pike position,” Ren said, changing up his rhythm a little, but Hux followed easily.  “Do you think we’ll win?”

“Ren, you’re being silly,” Hux chastised him, though Hux had always been the one for simulations and visualizations.  Once again this was too little too late.

“I’m being serious.  If we’d been out there today, this is what we would have ended with,” Ren said, running his fingers down Hux’s spine.

“Fine, yes, I would have saved that for last.”

“Well, let’s go do it.”

“We haven’t practiced it together in nearly a year,” Hux argued.

“You still know all my sweet spots, and I know yours,” Ren said, guiding Hux to the edge.  

“Fine, are you ready?” Hux asked, turning around so his back faced the water.  He watched Ren do the same.

“Yes,” Ren replied.

“Breathe,” Hux told him.  It was a ritual at this point.

“Breathing,” Ren replied, reaching over and grabbing Hux’s hand for a moment before letting go and lowering his hands.

“One, two, three, go,” Hux said, and they both jumped, twisting their bodies in the air then folding into their somersaults.  Hux straightened out and broke the water cleanly.  

Before he could kick to the surface, Ren wrapped his arms around his waist in the dark water.  Ren found his lips, kissing him hungrily as they both kicked to the surface.  

When they broke, Hux took a quick breath before kissing Ren again.  He wrapped his legs around Ren’s waist, letting him do the work of keeping them afloat.  They kissed demandingly, overcome with the feeling of diving together again.  

Hux didn’t need a video to know whether it was a good dive.  It had felt right even if he couldn't see their movements.

They floated for a while, kissing lazily until that segwayed back into caressing.  Hux buried his fingers in Ren’s hair, kissing him once more.

“It’s getting late,” Hux said, breathless.  This needed to end or he’d never recover from it.  This wasn’t real.  Tomorrow morning when he was alone again and facing down another week of competition without Ren at his side, that would be reality.

“We have tomorrow off,” Ren pointed out.

“I have early practice.”

Ren growled, but he kicked them to the side of the pool.   When they got there, Ren pressed Hux against the wall and kept kissing him.  “Five minutes?”

“In five minutes, you’ll be asking for another orgasm, and after another orgasm you’ll be asking for things I can’t give,” Hux told him, flicking his ear. Ren sighed, kissing him chastely as he eased up.

They both went up and collected their clothes, shedding their underwear before dressing again.  Hux made a disgusted noise as Ren threw his wet underwear at him.  “Barbarian,” he muttered as he took it and threw it in the trash with his own.

They walked out of the building leaning on each other tiredly.  “How did you get inside?” Hux asked, allowing Ren to slip his arm around his waist.

“I gave the guard a handjob,” Ren said, like it was obvious.

“Bastard got off twice,” Hux muttered, allowing Ren to lead them back toward the Village.  

Ren hailed them a cab once they put some distance between them and the stadium.  “You still have my wallet, so I can’t pay,” he said as they were dropped off.

Hux pulled out Ren’s wallet and paid, tucking the wallet back into his pocket.  Ren made no comment, following Hux out of the car.  Hux stepped away from Ren as Ren went to wrap his arm around him again.  

“You looked tired on the platform today,” Ren said as they walked side by side.

“I am tired,” Hux admitted.  It had taken nearly two years for Hux to be able to admit such a thing to Ren, but just like the other habits it was hard to break.  

“You should get some sleep.”

“Easier said than done.”

“What did you think of my dives?” Ren chose to change the subject instead of arguing.  Hux appreciated that.

“I told you.  You were holding back,” Hux said, walking close enough that Ren could slip his arm around his waist again.  

“My form?”

“Better than I’ve ever seen it.”

“My control.”

“Better than ever,” Hux said again, frowning.

“My attitude…”

“You’re better without me, Ren.  I noticed,” Hux snapped, but Ren grabbed him by the shoulders and forced Hux to face him.

“I’m better because of you.  You weren’t what was wrong.  It was me.  Please, let me tell you what happened,” Ren begged looking right into Hux’s eyes.  Hux could rarely deny those eyes.

“I can’t right now.  You’ve had a year, Ren.  Now isn’t the time.  I need to focus on my diving instead of focusing on you.  You’re a distraction...one I clearly can’t ignore if today is any indication,” Hux told him.  He wanted to know.  He wanted to be able to believe it wasn’t him that drove Ren away.  He wanted to believe it wasn’t all an elaborate set up.  However, he couldn’t risk the fallout.  He’d handled uncertainty for a year.  He didn’t know if the truth would break him.

“Before we leave here.  Before I may never see you again.”

“After the platform finals, I’ll consider it.”  

“I’ll prove myself to you.  I’ll prove I’m worthy,” Ren told him, running his large hands down Hux’s arms.

“Ren—”

“I promise I won’t interfere with anything.  I just can’t keep pretending that I’m not completely fucked over leaving you.”

“Try being left,” Hux muttered, turning the ring that was still on his finger.

“I’m sorry,” Ben whispered.

“Fine.  What did I tell you?  You fuck me then I agree to something stupid.  One of these days, I’m actually going to fuck you in a proper bed,” Hux said, lamenting the burn on his knees from the platform and the wish he’d just granted Ren.

“We did it in a bed on our wedding night,” Ren retorted, pulling Hux a little closer to his side.

“I don’t want to talk about our marriage, Ren,” Hux sighed.  He could feel Ren’s shoulders hunch forward, but he couldn’t forgive it just because Ren wanted him to.  There had been so many lies that Hux needed to come to terms with.  

“I’ll walk you to your room,” Ren said, and Hux almost said it wasn’t necessary.  However, he was tired, and Ren’s presence was a comfort whether he wanted it to be or not.  

“I’m not letting you in,” Hux told him.

Ren didn’t say anything, and neither did Hux when Ren guided them to the American building instead of the English.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren's tattoo is dedicated to pixiepunch who came up with it while we were discussing this fic. There is always room for some trashy tattoos on Ren's body.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as usual where my fics are concerned, this 5k idea has morphed into a 40k story. So, I've bumped this up to five chapters (possibly six if I do an epilogue) just because I hate editing chapters that are over 10k words. The next chapter is written and the last chapter is half done, so hopefully I'll be posting chapter 4 soon.

Hux woke once again with Ren’s arm around his waist, but this time he woke because he heard someone moving inside the room rather than because he felt like he was on fire.  He opened his eyes to find Poe sitting on his bed watching them both sleep.

“Do you always watch people sleep?” Hux asked, annoyed at the rude behavior.

“Nah, I’m just trying to figure something out,” Poe said, crossing his arms over his chest like there was nothing weird about the situation.

“And what exactly would that be?” Hux asked, reaching down to move Ren’s hand up and off his bladder.  Ren somehow managed to have a steel grip even in sleep.

“How do you sleep with him snoring in your ear all night?  I had to throw a sneaker at him a few days ago because I thought I’d never fall asleep,” Poe said.

Ren’s snores were more like rumbling purrs at the moment.  Just a soft rolling sound as he pressed against Hux’s back.  However, Hux knew what Poe was talking about.  Hux had nearly smothered him in his sleep the first night they slept together.

“I mean seriously, I told him to see a doctor about that.  It can’t be normal,” Poe continued.

“I don’t divulge my secrets,” Hux said, catching Ren’s hand before it could travel back down to his bladder.  Ren snuffled in his sleep, humping against Hux’s back.  His erection was impossible to ignore as he rubbed against Hux’s ass.

“You’re cruel, man.  If I suffocate him in his sleep, you’ll be to blame,” Poe said, standing up and walking out of the room.  “Tell Ben I’ll be watching Finn most of the day,” he called from the common area.

Hux grumbled to himself about not being Ren’s secretary, but Ren’s fingers tried to sneak beneath the waistband of his pants.

“Stop that.  I’m still angry with you,” Hux muttered, trying to grab Ren’s determined fingers.

“You’re always mad at me,” Ren mumbled against Hux’s neck.

“Well, you always give me good reason to be, you oaf.  I have to get to practice,” Hux said, trying to shimmy out of Ren’s arms.  Ren had other ideas though, and held him tight.  “Dammit, Ren.  I’m serious.  Last night was a mistake,” Hux tried to tell him, but Ren rolled them so Hux was lying on Ren’s chest and staring up at the ceiling as Ren’s arms held him there.  “I am not playing around!”

“You don’t regret last night,” Kylo told him.

“I do.  It was a moment of weakness, and it won’t happen ag—will you stop pressing against my damn bladder?  How would you like it if I started punching you in yours?” Hux complained.

“You really are getting old if you’re losing bladder control,” Ren teased him.

Hux made a completely undignified sound at the insinuation.  “I will urinate on you out of spite if you keep it up,” he retorted, prying at Ren’s fingers.

“Admit you don’t regret last night, and I’ll let go,” Ren told him.

“I will do no such thing, you brute.  Like I said—stop tickling me!”

“Admit it!”

“You are an asshole.  I can’t believe I gave you analingus,” Hux said loudly, squirming in Ren’s arms.

“Oh god, Hux.  Never say that again.  It’s called rimming.”

“Oh so the thought of me losing bladder control on you doesn’t disgust you, but the word analin—”

“I will squeeze you to death,” Ren threatened.

“It’s a word, Ren.”

“It’s awful.”

“You’re awful.”

They were both silent for a moment, contemplating the childishness of their argument.  Of course, it was Ren who overcame that faster.

“Just admit that you don’t regret last night.  You’re pissed off because you don’t feel regret.  Admit it.  You expected to wake up and punish yourself because you fucked me last night, but you woke up and it still felt good.  You would’ve been out the door before Poe ever came home if you had regrets.  You would’ve stolen another pair of my sweats and probably all of the toilet paper in the suite, and you would already be in the gym cleansing me from your system.   _But_ you’re here, pretending to hate me teasing you because you think the world will end if you actually enjoy something for once,” Ren told him, easing his grip enough that Hux was no longer in danger of embarrassing himself all over them both.

Hux huffed.  Ren was right, but it hurt Hux’s pride to admit it.  “You are exhausting,” Hux said instead.

“You are stubborn and miserable, but I’m willing to wait until you put your pride aside,” Ren said, adjusting his body a little beneath Hux. His erection rubbed against Hux’s ass, and Hux almost called him on it.  That would just start a whole other argument about proper protocol for morning wood.  

“Ren, I’m not playing around.  I need to use the bathroom.”

“I’m not either, and I’m extra serious after that fucking stunt you pulled yesterday with the toilet paper.”

Hux brought his legs up, resting his feet on Ren’s thighs.  Ren didn’t move at all, waiting patiently.

“Ren,” Hux said it softly.  

“Look, Hux, I’m not asking you to forgive me.  I’m not asking you to listen to me.  I just want to know that I wasn’t the only one that wanted last night to happen.  I just want to hear you say that you don’t hate me because of it,” Ren told him.

Hux closed his eyes, breathing out slowly.  

“ _J_ _ust admit that I’m not a bad partner,” Ren prompted as he stood on the other side of Hux’s kitchen island.  It was too late for this nonsense, but Ren had gone out drinking and gotten maudlin and showed up at Hux’s apartment.  Hux had been an idiot and let him in._

“ _You need to drink that glass of water and go to sleep, Ren.  You reek of alcohol,” Hux told him, bracing himself on the granite countertop._

“ _I_ _’m not drunk.  Stop changing the subject.  I’m a good partner, and you need to admit it,” Ren argued, slurring a good third of his words._

“ _Ren, you are more alcohol than man right now.  Drink the water, and we’ll talk in the morning,” Hux tried to reason with him._

“ _You’ll just ignore it in the morning like you always do.”_

“ _Ren, you have never showed up at my apartment at three in the morning drunk off your ass before.  Stop being melodramatic.”  Hux folded his arms over his chest, trying to look authoritative, but Ren was in no condition to notice._

“ _Dammit Hux, I’m a good partner.  Just say it, and I’ll go home.”_

“ _You aren’t going anywhere.  You can barely stand!”_

“ _I can stand fine,” Ren insisted, stepping away from the counter and swaying precariously.  Hux hurried around the island to grab Ren before he fell._

_Ren grabbed him first, and in a highly ill-advised move, he lifted Hux up over his head...lost his balance...and they both went toppling to the floor.  Hux landed on top of Ren, doing his best to shield Ren’s head from bouncing off the hardwood floor._

“ _You are a mess,” Hux sighed._

“ _I_ _’m a good partner,” Ren mumbled, sounding sad._

_Hux ran his fingers through Ren’s hair.  “Fine.  You’re a good partner, Ren.  You shave years off my life almost daily, but you’re a good partner.  Now, will you drink some water and lie on the sofa?” Hux asked him._

“ _I don’t think I can get up,” Ren admitted._

_Hux sighed again.  “I’ll get you a pillow.  I’m not throwing my back out because you’re a sloppy drunk,” Hux said, getting up to retrieve a pillow from the couch.  Ren was snoring by the time he returned._

Hux opened his eyes, and thrust his elbow down at Ren’s ribs.  Ren blocked him, but he had to loosen his grip to do so, and Hux wiggled out of his embrace with determination.

“Dammit, Hux,” Ren grumbled as Hux rolled over him and put his feet on the floor.

“I don’t regret last night, Ren, but I’m still wary of it.  You’ve made a fool of me once, and I’m not eager to repeat it,” Hux told him, standing up.  He almost sat right back down as his leg seized up.  The strain from yesterday flared up, and it made his leg incredibly stiff.  

If he hadn’t had to use the bathroom so urgently, he would’ve sat back down to hide what was going to be an obvious limp.  

It was, in fact, obvious.  He took his first step and nearly tipped sideways as his muscle refused to do it’s job properly.

“Old man,” Ren called from the bed as Hux awkwardly made the four foot journey from Ren’s cot to the small bathroom.

“Asshole,” Hux retorted, shutting the door firmly and actually locking it this time.

When Hux came out of the bathroom, Ren was up and rummaging through one of his suitcases.  

“I expected you to be playing with youself,” Hux commented, leaning on the doorway between the bedroom and bathroom.

“Get back in bed, and lie on your stomach,” Ren told him, ignoring Hux’s words and not looking up from what he was doing.

“I told you I need to go to practice,” Hux said, rubbing at his aching leg.

“You aren’t going anywhere with your leg like that,” Ren said, finally removing a travel size bottle from the bottom of his bag.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Just lie down, Hux.  I’ll work out the stiffness, and you can go back to plotting how you’ll humiliate me in the solo competition,” Ren said, walking over and grabbing Hux around the waist.  Hux just sighed as Ren lifted him up and deposited him onto the bed.  He glared up at Ren, but Ren paid him no attention as he put the bottle down next to Hux.

“I don’t need to plot.  I already know how I’ll do it, and you will undoubtedly help me with your brash behavior,” Hux snipped, but he raised his hips as Ren grabbed the waist of his pants.  He vaguely wished he hadn’t thrown out his underwear the night before.  The thought of being naked and vulnerable in front of anyone made him uncomfortable, and the conflict in his mind about whether or not he could trust Ren only compounded that.  He should leave before Ren pushed things any further.  Ren always pushed as far as he could.  Hux didn’t want to be the one to snap under Ren’s pushing.

Ren rolled him onto his stomach without so much as a comment though.  He didn’t join Hux on the bed, and instead gently positioned Hux’s leg to better reach the source of his discomfort.  And then, in a display of how well he knew Hux’s hangups, Ren grabbed a towel from his gym bag and laid it over Hux’s ass and back.

Hux looked over his shoulder as Ren picked up the bottle again and poured the oil onto his hand.  “Were you planning to give massages if the whole diving thing was a bust?” Hux asked as Ren rubbed his hands together to warm the oil before laying them on Hux’s thigh.

“You have a serious problem,” Ren told him, completely ignoring his question as he started to rub his hands up and down his thigh.  

“I wouldn’t call you serious.  You’re just very large,” Hux retorted, resting his head on Ren’s pillow because it hurt his neck to try to watch.

“Thank you.”

“That’s not what I was referring to,” Hux quickly corrected him.

Hux was prevented from saying anything further as Ren actually began working the tension out of his muscles.  Ren’s strong fingers dug deeply into the meat of his thigh, and it took all of Hux’s concentration not to cry out or flinch.  

“When did you injure your leg?” Ren asked as if he didn’t already know.  Hux gritted his teeth as Ren increased the pressure right at the source of the pain.  How was Hux supposed to answer when the only sound that was going to come out if he opened his mouth was a whimper?  “Is it an old injury acting up?”

“Are you really that dense?” Hux asked through his teeth.

“It’s a reasonable question.  It feels like you’re smuggling a piece of granite in your thigh.”

“It happened when I fell on my ass yesterday having a goddamn flashback of you breaking your ankle on the platform,” Hux snapped.

Ren released Hux’s leg, and Hux was forced to gasp at the sudden relief.  He could still feel where Ren’s fingers had manipulated the sore muscle as Ren rolled him onto his side, sliding the towel forward as he did.

Hux was forced to look at Ren’s face as he bent Hux’s knee and brought his leg up until his thigh was perpendicular to his other one.  He looked uncomfortable in light of Hux’s words.  Even his touch was gentler.  It was irritating.  

“How’s that feel?” Ren asked awkwardly as he lifted the leg out to the side.  It didn’t feel great.  Worse was that there was no way to cover himself properly as Ren manipulated his leg.

“I’m fine, Ren.  It’ll work itself out.  Don’t worry about it…”

“I don’t remember a lot about when I broke my foot,” Ren said suddenly.  He looked pale to Hux as he thought about it.

“Well you shattered multiple bones in your foot and ankle, so that could probably disrupt one’s memory,” Hux told him, putting his leg back down as Ren seemed to forget what he was doing.

Ren cleared his throat, somehow looking even more uncomfortable in light of Hux attempting to be understanding.

“No, um...can I sit?” Ren asked softly.

Hux frowned, but he scooted back to allow Ren room to sit.  Ren lowered himself onto the bed, immediately looking at his hands which he twisted in his lap.

“I...I take a lot of medications…”

“I know, Ren.  You carried one of those little pill organizers that my grandmother used when I met you,” Hux said, running his fingers up and down Ren’s spine soothingly.  He tried not to be distracted by Ren’s tattoo, but the bold lettering was difficult to ignore.

“Um, yeah.  I was having a lot of bad interactions with my medications around then, and it messed with my perception and, well, any memories I have of that time.  I remember floating in the water thinking I needed to dive again, and I remember your arm around me and feeling better because of that because it meant you were going to dive with me.  I remember waking up in the hospital and seeing you sleeping in the chair next to the bed.  

“That was the first clear memory I have of that period.  I don’t know what they gave me or did to me, but when I woke after surgery you were there.  I remember that you’d drooled on the collar of your shirt, and I remember thinking you’d be so annoyed about it.  I didn’t remember why I was in the hospital, but I thought it would be alright because you were there and you always had everything under control…”  Ren looked like a lost child, trying hard to remember his way home or his address but coming up empty.

“Why didn’t you tell me?  You could’ve died,” Hux said, wrapping his arm around Ren’s waist as he curled around him almost protectively.

“I don’t know.  The doctor explained to me what was going on with my meds, and he had me see a psychiatrist while I was stuck in there.  They sorted the mess out, so I guess I didn’t think it was important.  Maybe I was embarrassed.  Maybe I was afraid of what you’d say.  You never would’ve fucked up such a thing.  I was an adult, and I couldn’t even get my medications straight.  It wasn’t until later...never mind,” Ren cut himself off, standing back up and motioning for Hux to get back into position.

“No, what were you saying?” Hux demanded, but Ren shook his head.

“It’s a story for another time.  I never did thank you for letting me live with you and taking care of me then.  It took a while for me to realize how much you did for me, and how much of a handful I was,” Ren said, pouring more oil onto his hands and working Hux’s groin muscles.  

Hux bit the inside of his cheek, not liking what he was hearing at all.  He let it go though because he’d set a firm boundary with Ren, so it was only fair for Ren to set his own.

“You weren’t a handful,” Hux admitted.  “I worried.  I always worry.  It wasn’t that you were trouble.  I just focused my worrying on you instead of other things.”

“You still worry about me,” Ren said, guiding Hux’s leg again in a series of movements to help stretch and loosen the tight muscle.  Hux had forgotten about his discomfort at being vulnerable in front of him.

“You’re like any other bad habit, Ren.  Hard to break,” Hux told him, rolling onto his back.  Ren crawled onto the bed, lifting Hux’s legs and sitting where they had been.  He spread them and lowered them on either side of his hips.  He continued to massage Hux’s thigh, now using long strokes of his fingers to sooth the muscles he’d just worked on.

“My mother bought me a body pillow when I went home because I couldn’t sleep without you.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarrassed.  She said she got one for herself for when my dad goes off on his own for extended periods.  I bought that awful cologne you wear for special occasions, and that...fuck, I shouldn’t have admitted that.  This is mortifying,” Ren said, clearly embarrassed but unwilling to stop touching Hux yet.

“That is quite pathetic,” Hux told him.  He kept tightlipped about his own concessions to his loneliness.  There was no point in telling Ren that he had to change bedrooms because he couldn’t sleep in their room alone.

Ren finished what he was doing and began to stretch Hux out.  Hux moaned when Ren lifted his leg and pushed it toward his chest.  “I fucked up, Hux.  I know walking out like that probably didn’t make it seem like it, but it was more than just a diving partnership.  Maybe it started like that, but by the time I moved to London I was in deep.  Maybe I don’t have the right to bring that up, but I don’t want you to think I didn’t care.”

“And your behavior every time we’ve met in competition since?” Hux asked.  Hux wouldn’t say it, but the cold and vindictive way Ren treated him afterward cut deeply.  He made it seem like Hux was the one that wronged him.

Ren lowered Hux’s leg again then moved so that he was bracing himself over Hux’s body.  He looked him in the eye as he held himself steady.  “I wasn’t in a good place when I left you.  I had to work through a lot of things, and I really didn’t have a great grasp of who was to blame...and you were an easy target.”  He said the last part quietly as though ashamed.

“I really need to get to practice,” Hux said.  He’d let this go on long enough.  He didn’t regret the night before, but he knew he’d regret this morning if he didn’t escape soon.

“Yeah, of course,” Ren said, not moving.

“ _Ren_.”

Ren leaned down and kissed him softly.  Hux sighed against his lips, returning the kiss with equal gentleness.  It was as though they were both afraid of hurting the other.

“Can I take you to dinner?  I probably owe you about a thousand after living with you,” Ren said when they pulled apart.

“No.  We aren’t together, Ren.  Last night was nice, and you did an admirable job with my leg this morning, but I can’t...I can’t lose focus again,” Hux told him, reaching up to push the hair hanging in Ren’s face back behind his large ears.

“Yeah, of course,” Ren said, finally moving off of Hux.  He offered his hand once he was standing beside the bed, and Hux took it.  He was surprised by how good his leg felt.  Ren had always been good with his hands, his words and actions not so much.

“Thank you for finding me last night.  You were right.  I probably would have watched the videos for hours,” Hux told him as he turned to pick up his pants.  

Ren held out a pair of sweats that would be baggy on him.  Hux eyed them for a moment before taking them.  He’d always loved wearing Ren’s clothes when he got the chance.  There was room to breathe in them, and there was something secure about wearing something large enough to retreat into like a tortoise.  

“Can we fuck again tonight?” Ren asked as Hux tied his shoes.  

Hux gave him a look that he hoped conveyed just what he thought of Ren’s crude request, but Ren gave him a half shrug.  

“I don’t think sex is a good idea,” Hux told him.

“It’s not the same as dinner.  We don’t even need to talk to fuck, and I owe for sticking your tongue in my…”

“The massage was perfectly sufficient for today,” Hux cut him off, straightening up.

“Right.  How about tomorrow?”

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Hux asked, running his fingers through his hair so that he looked somewhat respectable during his walk of shame.  He thought he was too old for this nonsense yet here he was.

Ren looked thoughtful.  “Can I surprise you?”

“Don’t try to be romantic, Ren,” Hux said flatly.  “In case you don’t remember, we never advertised our relationship.  The world believes we hate each other, and the press is dying for any information they can get.  Being seen together is not possible,” Hux explained when Ren looked disappointed.

Ren sighed, sitting back down on the bed.  “What if I got takeout, and we watched our training videos together.  We can point out each other’s weaknesses,” Ren suggested.

Hux thought about it for a moment before nodding.  “Very well.  Make sure the food fits the parameters of my diet plan,” Hux told him, walking toward the door.

“Yeah, okay.  I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ren called after him.

Hux rolled his eyes.  “Walk me out,” he said, and Ren was quick to follow him.  When they got to the door of the suite, Hux pulled the wedding band off his finger and held it out to Ren.  “It’s too big.  I’ll just lose it,” he said, afraid that he’d never stop twisting it on his finger if he kept wearing it.

“No.” Ren folded Hux’s fingers over the smooth metal protectively.

Hux sighed, but he didn’t fight Ren about it.  “I’ll come by after press tomorrow,” Hux said, leaning in and kissing Ren on the cheek.  Ren, of course, turned his face as Hux was pulling away and caught his lips in a soft kiss.

“Don’t let Snoke get to you.  I saw your dives, and they were great.  You just aren’t made for Mitaka,” Ren told him.

“Are you implying I was made for you?” Hux asked, folding his arms defensively.

Ren’s face heated at Hux’s remark, and he looked completely embarrassed that Hux said it aloud.  He just shrugged heavily.  “If your leg gives you trouble, I’ll work on it again.  Don’t be a tough guy.  I need you at your best, so when I beat you we both know it’s real,” Ren said, getting some of his bravado back.

“Keep dreaming, Ren.” Hux said, turning and walking out.  He twisted the ring as he waited for his elevator.  He twisted it more as he walked back to his own room.  

\---

Mitaka was already sweating when Hux met him at the gym.  Snoke wasn’t in sight, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching.  “You okay?” Hux asked as Mitaka sipped his water slowly.

Mitaka nodded, pointing to where Snoke was storming toward them between apparatuses.  “Warpath,” Mitaka wheezed before going back to his drink.

“Where the hell did you go last night?”Snoke shouted in the quiet weight room.

“I went for a walk to clear my head,” Hux told him flatly.  

“Did that walk end in Ben Solo’s room?” Snoke demanded.

“It’s no one’s business where it ended,” Hux retorted, removing his jacket and placing it on his bag.  He felt like he was back in his father’s study about to be punished.

“It is my business, and it is appalling that you would even speak to that traitor after what he’s done.  He used you.  He humiliated you.  He abandoned you.  He’ll do all of that again, and you’ll deserve it for falling for his wiles.  The Solos and Skywalkers are a cancer to this sport, and you are happily embracing it like the stupid tart you are,” Snoke berated him in full earshot of anyone who happened to walk through the gym.

Hux’s blood boiled as he took the verbal lashing.  He knew he shouldn’t have gone back with Ren last night, but he had.  He didn’t regret it even if Snoke threw it in his face.

“I’m not a child, Snoke.  I can speak to whomever I wish,” Hux replied, wrapping his wrists with tape.

“You’re weak,” Snoke told him, and Hux couldn’t disagree with that assessment.  “You’re twenty minutes late.  You’ll make up those lost minutes by losing breaks.  Get on the treadmill,” Snoke ordered.  Mitaka gave him a wide eyed look as he walked over to one of the treadmills.  

Snoke followed him, programming the equipment for what he wanted Hux to do.  Hux didn’t bother looking at it, he just started to run as the tread began to move.  He’d been through Snoke’s worst punishment sessions.  It was just a matter of keeping a clear head and realizing that eventually the pain would end.

Hux ran while Mitaka lifted weights.  He was a good runner, so even Snoke’s idea of a painful run wasn’t excruciating.  When he finished, he was only given enough time to take a sip of water before moving onto the weights.  

Lifting had never been Hux’s strong suit.  He could lift his own body weight as handstands were often required for dives, but he wasn’t Ren—who he was sure could bench press a car if he truly wanted to.  

With his lungs already working overtime from the fast run, lifting was difficult.  There were too many repetitions with too much weight, and by the time he struggled through the last rep, his arms and legs felt like jelly.

Surprisingly, his leg wasn’t bothering him any more than anything else was.  Ren had worked out the tightness, and Hux was grateful as he cycled into a grueling circuit Snoke had devised.  He was also grateful that the muscle hadn’t actually been strained, or he doubted he’d still be standing.

Mitaka looked like he wanted to cry and was on the brink of falling over as other people slowly filtered into the gym.  Hux checked his watch, and they still had a half an hour before their pool time.

Hux wasn’t entirely surprised when Ren stalked into the gym behind several other members of the American team.  He didn’t particularly want his humiliation on display for Ren to witness, but he had no other choice.  So, he pushed himself on the burpees and the planks and the horrific jumping drills.  

Snoke never failed to tell them how displeased he was as they continued to sweat their asses off.  With fifteen minutes left, Snoke ordered them over to the rowing machines.  “I expect 3k with a 500 cool down, and you better not be late to the pool,” Snoke told them before walking out.

Hux closed his eyes.  This wasn’t impossible, but after the workout they’d had it wouldn’t be easy.  Mitaka looked over at him.  He was covered in sweat and looking practically delirious.  

Hux settled his feet into their spaces and watched Snoke head out of the gym toward the pool.  He looked back at Mitaka who was swaying slightly in his seat.  Hux felt like death himself.  Snoke had never worked them this hard in such a short time, and Hux hadn’t even had the meager breaks Mitaka had had.  

Hux was adjusting the velcro stirrups when he felt a presence looking over him.  “Use a different machine. This one's taken,” he said without looking over his shoulder.

“Hux, let me do it,” Ren's voice was soft as though he was speaking to an upset child or a wounded animal.  More likely a wounded animals, Hux was certain Ren would scream just as loud as the upset child would. “You can barely sit up. I can match your splits.”

“I don't need your help,” Hux insisted, forcing himself to sit tall. He was wasting precious time.  As usual, Ren’s good intentions were costing Hux.

“Hux, he's killing you. He's punishing you for getting silver. Think about how messed up that is, and get off the damn rowing machine,” Ren insisted.  He reached for Hux’s shoulder, but Hux leaned out of his reach.

Hux refused to look at him. “I signed up for results, Ren. If you couldn't handle that, it's on you.  I don’t run away from things.”

“ _Hux_.”  He sounded wounded.  He sounded like Hux’s refusal was physically painful to him.  Hux was aware of Ren’s teammates’ eyes on them, and that kept him from softening his stance.  

Hux glanced at Mitaka who was uncoordinatedly pulling at the handle, trying to get a rhythm going. Hux bit the inside of his cheek before looking up at Ren. “Do it for him,” he said, pointing beside him.

“For him?” Ren glanced at Mitaka as well, shoulders bunching.

Hux nodded. “I can make it. He can't.”

“Fine,” Ren groused, clearly wanting to come to Hux’s rescue instead of Mitaka’s.  Hux ignored that.  He’d been dealing with Snoke for years.  This wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

Ren stalked over to Mitaka and actually lifted the other man out of his seat and put him on the floor.  Mitaka looked confused as Ren seated himself on his machine and immediately began to adjust it for himself.

“What’s going on?”

“Just stretch,” Hux told him, sitting on his own machine and beginning to pull.  

“But I have to row.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Ren said, taking a powerful pull right from the start.  He immediately fell into pace with Hux, being careful not to press the pace.  

Hux easily matched himself to Ren’s movements.  He had to pull harder on each stroke than Ren did, but it was manageable.  At least it was until the second 1.5k.  Hux needed water.  He needed more air than his lungs were taking in, and he needed something to ease the pain in his body.

Ren was still fresh beside him.  “Come on,” Ren encouraged him, ticking up his pace just a little.  Hux mimicked him without thought, and the extra speed helped the pulling for a few strokes.

Mitaka was watching them and cheering them on, having gotten a little color back in his face. He seemed to be breathing normally again, and Hux envied him.  

“Come on, Hux.  Focus on me,” Ren said, taking over the pace.  Hux blindly followed his movements as though a string attached them, linking their every move.  

Hux glanced down at his wrist.  “Eight minutes,” he said.  They had eight minutes to finish the last 1.25k and a cooldown.  

“Just focus on me,” Ren told him.  “Increase your speed,” Ren said as Hux looked over at him.

“Can’t,” Hux replied.  His body was going on muscle memory at this point.  

“Come on, Hux.  I can’t put out big numbers to get you going, or Snoke’s going to know your partner didn’t do this,” Ren told him.  He was right.  Snoke would be checking their splits to pick them apart.  “Just give me a little more.”

Hux squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the sweat dripping down over his eyelids.  

“ _Come on, is that the best you’ve got?” Ren asked, gripping Hux’s shoulders tightly._

_Hux’s hips snapped forward as he hitched Ren’s legs higher to rest over his shoulders._

“ _Come on,” Ren urged again, digging his nails into Hux’s biceps as he set a punishing pace.  “That’s it.  Punish me,” Ren groaned as Hux adjusted his angle._

_Ren shouted as Hux got it just right, one stroke after another.  Hux’s muscles ached from the marathon they been putting themselves through all night._

_They’d won Worlds with the dive that Ren demanded they do, and they hadn’t been able to take their hands off each other since they stumbled into the apartment._

_The champagne had been popped and poured all over Hux as Ren lifted him onto the kitchen island and proceeded to blow him for the better part of a half an hour, licking champagne off his skin and holding it in his mouth, so the bubbles created wonderful sensations against Hux’s cock._

_Then they’d crashed through the apartment toward the bedroom, humping each other against any surface they came in contact with._

_Once in bed they’d not stopped groping, grinding, and getting each other off for hours.  Recovery periods were spent exploring each other’s bodies, stroking and kissing all available skin.  Hux was going to have a hell of a time covering some of the love bites Ren had left behind._

_Ren had gotten off twice before Hux had him fully prepped, and by the time he entered him several hours after they started working toward this end, he slid home with little resistance._

_Now they were both sweating, exhausted, and so well fucked that getting off again seemed like a fever dream, but they continued to pleasure each other.  Hux met Ren’s every demand as he worked his own body to the brink between pleasure and pain._

“ _Fuck, yes.  Again,” Ren cried out as Hux got deep, gripping Ren’s hips tightly to guide his movements._

_Hux squeezed his eyes shut, releasing his own shout as he thrust into Ren again, feeling his own body tip over the edge and spill inside Ren.  He continued to fuck Ren through his own pleasure, and after a moment he felt Ren join him in ecstasy once more._

Hux didn’t know when he started grunting on every pull, but Ren met his every cry with his own as Hux pushed his body to the limit in search of the finish line.  Hux was vaguely aware of the people around them as they sounded like they were waging an aggressive tennis match with each pull.

Hux glanced at his numbers, and he was less than 300 meters from finishing.  He pulled harder, crying out a little louder as he launched himself back with his legs and following through with everything his arms had to offer.  Ren did the same, sweating heavily beside him.

As the machine beeped that he finished, Hux almost lost his grip on the handle.  He panted as he slowed his movements.  

“You with me?” Ren asked, slowly pulling through the cool down.  

“Yeah,” Hux rasped, throat feeling raw.

“Where’d you go?” Ren asked when they finally stopped.  Ren got out of his seat, and immediately went to help Hux up.  Hux didn’t think his legs would be able to hold him up after that workout.  He was so distracted by his pain that he forgot he was supposed to be keeping his distance from Ren both physically and emotionally.  He was just too easy to turn to Ren when he hurt.

“Worlds three years ago,” Hux said, and Ren gave him a dirty grin as he lifted him to stand—Ren’s arms doing all the work of holding him upright.

“I don’t think I’ve ever screamed that loud,” Ren whispered, easing up his hold to see if Hux could stand.  It was shaky, but his legs held him for the moment.

Mitaka handed over a bottle of water, looking concerned.  “Two minutes,” he said, sounding regretful.

“I’m not letting you up on a platform right now,” Ren said seriously.

“Not your call,” Hux told him, pushing against his chest to get him to step back.  He remembered himself as Ren became overbearing.  Ren didn’t have a right to tell Hux what he could do.  Mitaka was Hux’s partner now, and Ren would have to get over it.

“Hux.”  The way he said it had the stubborn, petulant quality that Hux had once hoped he’d outgrow.  He hadn’t, and it usually signified the beginning of a rage.

“You’re not my partner.  You’re—”

“Don’t make me dive in and fish you out.  You know what that felt like.  I don’t want to,” Ren told him, controlling his temper admirably.  Perhaps he had outgrown some of his fury.

“I need to go,” Hux said, feeling like an ass because he did know exactly what that felt like.  He still wasn’t over the worry of watching Ren stand up on the platform alone after that.

He held himself tall as he walked away, feeling the eyes of Ren’s teammates glued to his back.  Mitaka was practically glued to his side, making sure he didn’t keel over.

“Why’d you ask him to cover for me?” Mitaka asked as they walked through the training facility.

“Because you couldn’t do it, and he made a promise to me,” Hux said.

“What’d he promise?” Mitaka asked, taking Hux’s bag from his shoulder because it was causing him to stagger.  

Hux looked away.  Mitaka had his suspicions.  It was impossible to come into their situation and not have them.  Hux just didn’t like confirming anything.

“A lot of things...when he married me,” Hux said, feeling delirious from the exhaustion but also from the fact that this was the first time he’d told someone out loud other than his sister.

“Married?  Shit, my mum was right.  I’m in this shit deep,” Mitaka said, sounding completely baffled.

“It isn’t what you think,” Hux corrected him.

“You mean you didn’t marry him to help him get citizenship, so he could dive with you here...and then he left you...and I was the poor sod that stepped in thinking you weren’t completely fucked over it?” Mitaka asked him.

“No.”

“So you loved each other?”

“I’m afraid it certainly looks that way now,” Hux told him, cringing at the mess he’d made of his life.

“But why did he leave?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Mitaka asked, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to hear his story,” Hux explained, taking his bag back as they entered the pool area.

Mitaka shook his head in wonder as he followed Hux to where Snoke was arguing with another coach.  Hux didn’t know why he’d told Mitaka or how he felt about his reaction.  

\---

The rest of the practice had been about as pleasant as the start, and by the time Hux walked out of the Aquatic Center he was standing upright by sheer force of will.  Mitaka was hunched beside him as they hailed a cab back to their room.  

Hux didn’t realize he’d nodded off on the few minute drive until Mitaka gently shook him awake.  Hux fished through his bag’s pockets for his wallet, coming up with Ren’s instead.  He thought he’d left Ren’s in the room and taken his own.  He shook his head and paid the man with Ren’s money.  He shoved the wallet back into his bag as they walked to their rooms.

“I don’t think I have the energy to shower,” Mitaka said as they both collapsed on their beds.

Hux laid there for the better part of an hour, too uncomfortable to sleep and too exhausted to get up and shower or get food.  It was much past noon, but he didn’t think he’d be able to move the rest of the day.  Even stubbornness couldn’t fix this one.

Someone knocked on their door at 1:45 in the afternoon.  “I can’t get up,” Mitaka groaned, rolling back and forth on his back but making little progress in actually moving.

“I’m not expecting anyone.  I’m not getting it,” Hux told him.  It was probably one of Mitaka’s friends.  Hux wasn’t enduring the pain of getting up for someone he didn’t want to see.

“I’m not either.”

“It’s more likely to be someone you know,” Hux said.

“You’re the one with a crazy ex husband.  It’s probably him.”

“I told him I wouldn’t see him until tomorr—”

The knock came again.  “Hey, delivery for Arimtage Hux?  I was told he’d be here—”

“What kind of delivery?” Mitaka called out, rolling faster but still not getting over onto his stomach.  Hux was reminded of a stupid video the Ren had made him watch once of a turtle stuck on its shell and unable to turn over without help.

“Fried chicken and pizza,” the man called.

“Oh god, the American food truck,” Mitaka groaned.  The American food truck was a hit with just about everyone.  The lines in front of it were so long some days that one could spend an hour waiting for food.

“Dammit,” Hux said, groaning as he sat up and walked to the door.  He pulled it open, and a young man with enough food to feed the entire British Olympic team was standing there looking exhausted.

“Are you Hux?” the guy asked.

“I am,” Hux replied, opening the door further and motioning for the man to enter.

“I was told to tell you that you ‘need to eat something other than just a salad or Kylo Ren is going to kick your ass,’” the man said, reading off a little note on one of the bags.  “I was also told you have Kylo’s wallet, and that there better still be enough cash to cover this.”

Hux rolled his eyes.  “One moment,” he said, shuffling slowly to the bedroom and bending stiffly to pick Ren’s wallet out of his bag.

As he opened it in the bright light of the apartment, he was immediately bombarded by their old wedding photo.  Hux froze, staring at the worn picture.  He and Ren were standing at the kitchen island with a cake that had a picture of a diver and diving board on it in icing—his sister thought she was clever.  Ren was holding a piece of cake, and Hux had a smear of icing on his face.  

“What does it cost?” Hux asked, tearing his eyes away from the picture.

The guy dug through the note on the stack of boxes then held it up for Hux.  Hux grumbled about highway robbery as he counted Ren’s money then handed it over to the man.  

“Thank you,” he said, picking up the stack of boxes and carrying them into the bedroom.  The guy took his money and left.

“What did The Human Tantrum buy us?” Mitaka asked.

Hux chuckled.  All of the other divers had colorful nicknames for Kylo.  Hux’s favorite was Depth Charge which was quite apt given his penchant for thrashing violently under the water when he dove poorly.

“Too much food,” Hux said, placing it all on his own bed.  Mitaka actually managed to roll onto his side this time and watched as Hux opened the various bags and boxes.  There was pizza, fried chicken, three salads (none of which actually looked healthy), onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and garlic knots.  None of it was on Hux’s diet plan, but he supposed that was the point.  Ren was thumbing his nose up at Snoke in his own way.

“Give me a slice of pizza,” Mitaka said.

Hux opened the first box.  “Meat Lover’s, Vegetable, or…” He opened the second box, “Buffalo Chicken or plain?”

“Buffalo,” Mitaka told him, holding out his hand until Hux tore off a slice and a section of the box and handed it to Mitaka on the greasy cardboard.  It was a move Ren had taught him during a brief stay in the States.  “Oh god, this makes up for today,” Mitaka said, after taking a large bite.

Hux took one of the salads and moved to the floor to sit.  He was exhausted, and the thought of eating the food Ren sent only made him more tired.  He picked at his salad while he opened Ren’s wallet again.  

Staring at the small photo of them, it was hard not to believe Ren.  They certainly looked happier than he could ever remember as Ren pressed cake to his face.  

“ _I_ _need a picture.  People who get married take pictures,” his sister insisted as she held up the camera he’d bought her for her birthday.  She’d been trying to be a photographer for years, but she spent most of her days teaching small children their ABCs instead of taking pictures.  She used family gatherings as her time to really push for pictures.  This was no exception._

“ _We don’t need a picture with this ridiculous cake, Beth,” Hux told her, glaring down at the stupidly iced cake.  “The diver doesn’t look like either of us, and the dimensions are all--”_

_Kylo stuck his finger in the piping along the edge of the cake and wiped the blue green icing onto Hux’s cheek.  Hux stood blinking at him for a moment as Beth snapped several pictures._

“ _You bastard,” Hux finally said, grabbing the knife._

_Ren grabbed his wrist and strong armed him into slicing the cake while he grinned at Hux like a fool.  Hux tried to yank his arm out of Ren’s grasp, but Ren was too strong, and he immediately grabbed the piece of cake with his other hand._

“ _Don’t you dare!” Hux shouted, but his mouth was suddenly full of cake.  He sputtered, but it was impossible not to laugh as Ren smiled at him boyishly.  “I’ll get you back for that,” Hux promised, but he couldn’t fight his smile.  He was nearly blinded by the flash of his sister’s camera going off over and over._

“ _I can’t wait,” Ren told him leaning in and licking the icing off his cheek.  Hux had tried to shove Ren’s head into the cake, but Ren was too fast for him._

_In the end, Hux had rubbed his messy cheek on Ren’s suit as they danced to Frank Sinatra in the living room._

\---

Hux woke with his salad wilted in his lap.  The room was getting dark, and Hux could hear Mitaka’s soft snores coming from his bed.  They’d barely gotten any food in them before falling asleep.  

Picking himself up off the floor, Hux began to put the food away.  His salad looked unappetizing, but he didn’t really care.  He just wanted to shower and go back to bed.  Mitaka had mentioned wanting to see some of the day’s events, but Hux didn’t plan to leave the apartment again.  He doubted Mitaka did either after the workout they’d had.

Hux was just beginning to pack up the leftovers when there was a knock on the door.  He sighed.  He was going to punch Ren if he sent more food.  Knowing Ren, he’d probably send a masseuse next or a physical therapist.  The man didn’t understand acceptable levels of involvement.  Ren made going overboard into an artform.

Opening the door without thinking, Hux came face to face with a wild eyed Ren.

“I said I’d see you tomorrow,” Hux said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I texted you over a dozen times, and you didn’t answer,” Ren shouted, shoving past Hux into the room.

“I left my phone in my bag.  Why the hell were you texting me?”

“Why was it in your bag?  You should have it on you!  What if you got lost or needed help?”

“I’m fairly confident in my ability to make it from my bed to the bathroom and back again without getting hopelessly lost,” Hux retorted, keeping his tone even.

“What’s goin’ on out—oh, he’s here,” Mitaka said sleepily from the doorway to the bedroom before turning right back around.

“Now you’ve woken up Mitaka,” Hux complained, throwing his hands up.  The comment struck him as something his mother would say to his father during a spat when he was a child.  He tried to ignore the domestic implications of that thought.

“I-I—” Ren seemed to struggle with the words in his mouth, forming them with his lips but not speaking them.

“Spit it out, Ren.  You can’t just barge over here like you own the place.  I don’t care if you buy us the entire American Foods truck.  You are not welcome here unless explicitly—”

“I was worried!  Dammit, Hux.  You looked like you might pass out if someone looked at you wrong this morning.  I was fucking worried,” Ren shouted over Hux’s irritated ramblings. “Are you happy now?”

Hux threw his hands up in the air.  “Why would I be happy about that?” he demanded.

“Because you were clearly avoiding me!”

“I was doing no such thing, you abominable idiot.”

“Don’t try to make me look ignorant by using your fancy boarding school vocabulary.”

“Idiot isn’t a big word, Ren,” Hux retorted, folding his arms in annoyance.  He couldn’t actually say why he was annoyed, but he was fairly certain that his mood preceded Ren’s arrival.

“Jesus Christ!  You’re worse than my grandparents.  Yell somewhere else,” Mitaka shouted from the bedroom.

“You’re bothering Mitaka.  You should go,” Hux said, watching Ren flex his hands then ball them into fists.

“I just came to see how you were,” Ren told him.  His shoulders hunched forward as though if he took up less space Hux might not throw him out.

“As you can see, I am inundated with the ridiculous amount of food you sent here, and I still need a shower.  So, now that you are updated on what is entirely none of your business, you may go—”

“I can clean it up while you shower,” Ren offered.  Ren was clearly determined to stay.

Hux stopped; he wasn’t expecting that offer.  Ren had never offered to clean anything up in the time Hux had known him.  Hux narrowed his eyes.  “Why?”

Ren shrugged.  “I sent it over, so—”

“Just let him do it, so you can both shut up,” Mitaka called out.

“You stay out of this,” Hux called back.  “Fine, do what you like.  I don’t care,” he told Ren, turning and walking back into the bedroom to collect his things for a shower.

Mitaka was sprawled on his back, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.  Hux rolled his eyes as he walked past him.  Of course, Mitaka would grow a backbone when it was least convenient for Hux.  See if Hux ever trusted him with a secret again.

Hux didn’t want to leave Ren unsupervised for long, but the hot water felt so good against his aching back.  He pressed his face to the tiles for a long time just letting the heat sooth him.  He could hear Ren’s heavy steps on the other side of the wall, traveling between the table and the refrigerator.  He didn’t turn the water off until the apartment went quiet.  He doubted that Ren had left, but he couldn’t hide forever.  

Taking his time at the mirror, Hux shaved and styled his hair.  He planned to go straight to bed, but he still meticulously gelled his hair into place.  

When he stepped back into the bedroom, in just a pair of boxers and one of the many team shirts they had been given to wear, Mitaka was snoring lightly again.  Hux was just going to go straight to his own bed, but he thought better of it.  He should at least make sure that Ren put all of the food away.  He didn’t want anything to start stinking.

The kitchenette was completely clean, and all of the food was safely within the refrigerator.  When Hux turned back to return to his room, he saw Ren silhouette on the couch in the common room.  He was sitting with his head tipped against the backrest.  

Hux walked over to him, studying his profile in the dim light filtering out of the kitchenette.  He could see the unmistakable sheen of tear streaks over Ren’s cheeks, and Hux felt his gut plummet as he realized that Ren had cried himself to sleep on his couch.

“What the hell happened to you?” Hux asked under his breath as he stepped closer.  

Ren didn’t move as Hux sat down beside him.  Hux noticed their wedding photo was cupped in Ren’s slack hand.  

He picked it up and placed it back in Ren’s wallet which was on the couch beside him. It would be safer there.  

Closing his own eyes briefly, Hux pushed his stubbornness and confusion out of his mind.  “Come to bed,” he whispered, running his thumb over Ren’s still damp cheeks.

Ren’s eyes fluttered open at Hux’s touch, and his head lolled so that he could look over at Hux.  “You’re okay…” Ren said, smiling at Hux like he was still half asleep.

“Of course, I’m okay.  You were just having a bad dream,” Hux told him, ignoring Ren’s earlier outburst.  

Ren squeezed his eyes closed then opened them again, looking at Hux in wonder.  “I don’t want to lose you again.  I can’t…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Ren.  I’ve always been right here,” Hux told him, running his thumb over Ren’s jaw before pushing his fingers through Ren’s thick hair.  

“No, I...I can’t be there to protect you—”

“I can look after myself.  Why were you crying?” Hux asked gently.  He’d forgotten how to be gentle in Ren’s absence, but it came back easily when Ren was looking lost and fragile in front of him.  Ren was anything but fragile, but sometimes he needed a gentle touch.  

“We could’ve been so happy.  I fucked it all up, and now...well we’re us,” Ren told him, wiping at his own face aggressively.

Hux smiled at that.  “We were always us, Ren.  We’ve been fighting since we met.  Just because it’s in the past doesn’t mean it was perfect.  It meant something, but it was still a lie.  Neither of us were honest with each other.  Neither of us were willing to work on our relationship outside of the pool.  Sometimes you have to burn everything to start fresh,” Hux told him, catching Ren’s hand in his own before Ren could rub his eyes raw.

“Is that what we’re doing?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so,” Ren said, sounding dejected.

Hux took a deep breath.  “Maybe we could.  Not here, but maybe I could spend some time in the States or you could visit London again,” Hux told him.

“Maybe,” Ren said, but he was shaking his head.  He didn’t believe Hux.  “Just...be careful,” he said, letting his head fall back again.

“Come to bed, Ren.  You can worry about me in the morning,” Hux whispered, pulling on Ren’s hand.

Ren blinked at him like he was just realizing he was awake.  He let Hux guide him into the room he shared with Mitaka.  Mitaka didn’t even move as Hux led Ren to the bed.  

Hux slowly stripped Ren out of his clothes until he was only in his briefs.  He got onto the narrow bed and laid on his side.  Ren took the hint, wrapping his body around Hux’s from behind.  He kissed Hux’s shoulder as he got himself comfortable.  

“I don’t want to go back home without you,” Ren whispered into the quiet room.  

“Sleep, Ren.  Neither of us are going anywhere tonight,” Hux told him.  The clock between the beds said it was barely nine in the evening, but they were all exhausted.

“I worry about you all the time.  You work yourself too hard.  You let Snoke push you further than you should,” Ren said, clinging to Hux.

“You shouldn’t worry about me,” Hux told him, patting the arm that held him around the waist.

“I can’t help it.  I love you.  I have for a long time.  Pretending our marriage was just business was the hardest—”

“Ren, _enough_ ,” Hux said loudly enough to rouse Mitaka slightly.  He couldn’t lie there as Ren poured his heart out, half asleep and unaware of just what he was doing.  

Ren didn’t say anything further, but Hux thought he felt the back of his shirt become damp as he drifted off to sleep.  He would speak to Ren in the morning when they were both coherent.

All of his common sense didn’t stop his chest from aching from Ren’s words though.


	4. Chapter 4

Ren wasn’t there when Hux woke.  Hux wasn’t sure why he was so disappointed to wake alone for the first time in several days.  It wasn’t as though he hadn’t been waking alone for a year now.

As he felt how cool Ren’s side of the bed was, Hux wondered if he’d imagined the night before.  It wouldn’t have been the first time he dreamed of Ren confessing his love.  However, when Hux rolled over, their wedding photo was resting on his bedside table.  Sighing, Hux told himself that he couldn’t afford this sort of emotional turmoil if he was going to win.  At the same time, he just couldn’t bring himself to cut Ren out altogether.  

His phone buzzed as he laid there, and he half expected it to be Ren with some half baked apology about walking out.  He was disappointed to find it was a message from Snoke reminding him that they had a day of press engagements that started at nine.

“Did you just get a text from Fearless Leader too?” Mitaka asked from his own bed, sounding like he’d been run over by a truck during the night.

“Are you even old enough to know who Fearless Leader is?” Hux asked, sitting up in bed and trying to stretch the previous day’s pain away.

“ _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ is timeless, Hux,” Mitaka retorted, doing his own set of stretches as he continued to lie down.

“You sound like Ren,” Hux grumbled, getting up and going to the bathroom.  Hux refused to admit that he’d had no idea what Rocky and Bullwinkle were until Ren broke his foot and decided to watch a marathon of the cartoon on Hux’s couch.  Ren had pointed out that Snoke was Fearless Leader while Hux was Rocky and Ren was Bullwinkle.  Hux had told himself it was due to Ren being high on pain medication.  Ren’s assessment didn’t even make sense.  Rocky and Bullwinkle weren’t on the same side as Fearless Leader.

\---

Interviews and press functions were one of Hux’s least favorite things, not because he didn’t enjoy talking about himself and his sport.  It was the people talking to him that he hated.  

“So Armitage, may I call you Armitage?” Keely Ann Something-or-other, from some glorified tabloid of a sports network, asked him.

“I prefer Hux,” he said, sitting up straight in the uncomfortable chair as Mitaka sat nervously beside him.  Mitaka hated press as well because he’d never been coached for it.  He stuttered sometimes when he explained himself, so he mostly deferred to Hux out of fear of looking foolish.

“Is there a story behind that preference?” she asked with a sunny smile, playing up the friendly and flirty angle to gain his trust.  Hux knew the game.  They were all sweet and polite until they started asking about old troubles or personal tragedies.  Then they became sharks sniffing out the barest hint of weakness.

“I simply prefer Hux.  There is less confusion about pronunciation or preferred nicknames,” he told her, folding his hands in his lap and meeting her gaze head on.

“Hux then.”  Her smile was false.  She wanted to call him Armie or Tage the way Ren and Mitaka would when they were feeling cheeky.  Hux didn’t understand why complete strangers felt the need to claim friendship with him.  Stories didn’t sell better just because they pretended to be his friend.  No one was fooled into believing these people wanted anything by a headline out of Hux and everyone else competing.

Hux answered her first string of questions on autopilot.   _What was it like to win silver? How prepared was he for the solo competitions?  Was he considering retirement after these Games?_

None of the questions were anything new.  Even Mitaka took a few because they were so boring.   _What will it be like to compete against each other?_

And then she went for the blood.  “Speaking of competition, your rivalry with Ben Solo and Poe Dameron has been highly publicized,” she segwayed.  Hux held in his sigh and eyeroll, but it simmered there beneath the surface.  “Is it disappointing not to be competing with Ben Solo?”

“The rules are what they are.  I have a fantastic partner now.  Mitaka and I work well to balance each other, and we have shared goals,” Hux told her.

“Was the volatility of your partnership with Ben Solo partially or wholly to blame for your split?” she asked, glancing up from her notes as though she’d caught him in a lie.

“Volatility?” Hux asked, giving her an unimpressed look.  She didn’t take the hint.

“Ben was almost disqualified on multiple occasions for his conduct.  Your arguments are legendary within the sport.  Did that not contribute in some way to the severing of your professional relationship?”

“ _This is bullshit!”_

“ _Ren, calm down,” Hux told him harshly.  Hux didn’t disagree with Ren’s anger.  The judge seemed to have it out for Ren.  However, showing them that their bias was hitting home wasn’t the way to handle it._

“ _I’ll tear his fucking head off.”_

“ _Ren!”_

“ _What?” Ren shouted back at him._

“ _If someone hears you, we’ll be disqualified,” Hux hissed back.  They were both facing each other, shoulders squared like it might come to blows.  Neither were in danger of that actually happening, but to the outside observer it certainly looked as such._

“ _What difference does it make?  We can’t win with these sorts of scores anyway,” Ren complained, balling his hands into fists like he might just start punching everything within reach._

“ _I will not suffer the indignity of being disqualified just because you’re feeling underappreciated.  The judge made a bad call.  We need to move on and do well on the next dive or—”_

“ _He has it out for me, and you don’t fucking care.  Everyone thinks you’re perfect, so you don’t give a fuck what they think of me…”_

“ _I care very much what they think of us as a_ whole _, and right now you are only alienating them further with your tantrum.”_

_It was the wrong thing to say.  Ren turned around and punched the tile wall hard enough that Hux was certain he’d broken his hand.  “You want a tantrum.  I’ll—”_

_Hux walked away.  He couldn’t tell Ren that he wanted to haul off and punch the judge right in the face as well.  He couldn’t stand there and watch Ren sabotage himself because a useless judge was making him feel inadequate._

“ _Don’t walk away from me,” Ren called to him, chasing Hux down into the hall outside the arena.  Ren cornered him in an empty supply closet, and Hux had to bite his own wrist as Ren swallowed him down with such force that he thought he’d come immediately._

“I never saw our partnership as volatile,” Hux said dismissively.  

“Really?  How would you describe your partnership with Ben Solo?” she asked, wisely leaving it to him to describe instead of pushing her own narrative.  

Hux levelled a cold look at her.  “I would describe my partnership with Kylo Ren as successful just as I would categorize my partnership with Dopheld Mitaka.”

She looked taken aback, clearly not expecting that as an answer.  “But you argued constantly with Solo…”

_Ben paced the deck—five strides to the left, about face, five strides back.  Hux held his tongue as Ren attempted to wear a hole in the tiles.  Ren had been agitated all morning.  At first, he’d blamed it on a need to eat.  When that didn’t work, he blamed it on the hotel accommodations.  Hux’s reminder that they were staying in a five star hotel only made him angrier._

_When Hux asked if he’d taken his medications, Ren snapped at him that he didn’t need a nanny.  Hux had let him stew after that.  Now though, they were getting close to competition time, and Ren was still strung tighter than a bow._

_Hux gritted his teeth and stepped into Ren’s path.  Ren stopped short to glare at Hux.  Somehow, Ren managed to look menacing with his hair pulled into a sloppy bun while wearing nothing but a loudly colored Speedo that was in danger of showing the stadium just how well equipped he was.  Hux hated him for that because if it wasn’t for Hux’s glare, no one would’ve taken him seriously in his own loudly colored Speedo which wasn’t in nearly as much danger of bursting under the stress of holding in his cock._

“ _What?” Ren demanded, looking into Hux’s eyes.  Few people met Hux’s gaze, but Ren’s eyes rarely strayed from it when they spoke...or yelled._

“ _I need you to calm down,” Hux said levelly._

“ _I_ am _calm,” Ren retorted, even as he flexed his hands making the muscles in his arms ripple._

_Hux snorted, and Ren’s eyes narrowed.  “Maybe you should be visualizing because last practice your entries were pitiful,” Ren said, bringing his shoulders forward a little more so that they were practically sharing breath._

“ _My entries?  You might as well just do a cannonball for how finessed your entries are,” Hux spat right back._

_They were drawing the eyes of those around them now which was exactly what Hux had been hoping to avoid.  It was hard to be taken seriously as partners when everyone had seen them fighting at one competition or another._

“ _Maybe I will.  We’ll see how well you hold it together then.  Maybe the splash will dislodge the pole from up your ass,” Ren told him._

“ _I refuse to stoop to your level of childishness.  Either pull yourself together or leave.  I don’t give a damn what you do,” Hux hissed, stalking away from Ren to go warm up.  His moods had been becoming worse and worse lately.  He could go from pleasant one moment to a torrent of fury the next.  It was exhausting to Hux, and it was inconvenient since it was the height of the season._

_They didn’t look at each other as they climbed the stairs for their first dive.  Hux only asked if Ren was ready because it was completely ingrained in his mind.  Frankly, if Ren wasn’t ready, Hux had half a mind to just throw him off the platform and walk away.  His last nerves were rapidly fraying._

“Bogart and Bergman didn’t like each other.  I’d still call _Casablanca_ a success,” Hux told her, squashing down any further attempts to get dirt.

Mitaka looked at him oddly as they made their way to the next interview.  “For someone who doesn’t give interviews, you’re really good at them,” Mitaka told him.

“My distaste for them has nothing to do with my ability to give them. I think they are a waste of time.  Every journalist you’ll meet today is looking for a headline.  They don’t just want to talk about your stats or your goals; they want a headline that will get them famous for a moment.  Tortured childhoods, overcoming adversity, a well kept secret scandal, anything that will get people to read their abysmal writing.  It’s how they stay in business.  People want entertainment, otherwise we might as well be replaced by animals because most people don’t relate to our discipline.  It’s our mistakes that people relate to.”

Mitaka nodded, adjusting his shirt for their next interview.  Hux answered most of the questions at this interview as well.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Hux got a question that he couldn’t field right away.

“With more allegations pouring in about your coach, do you have any comments on these claims?” the man asked.  Hux didn’t know what he was talking about.  He knew about Snoke’s suspension due to claims of working a diver half to death that came to light after the diver was suspended for doping, but he rarely picked up a paper, and he certainly wasn’t googling his coach.

Mitaka actually answered for him as he stared at the journalist.  “We can’t speak for the experiences of others who have trained with Mr. Snoke, and I don’t think it would be right for us to speculate on these matters,” Mitaka said steadily.  Hux would have smiled at him if he wasn’t trying to process it all.

“So, you’re saying Mr. Snoke has never used dangerous techniques or—”

“I work with Mr. Snoke to get results.  We have an understanding.  We have nothing more to say on the topic,” Hux cut in after a moment.

“Do you think Ben Solo would have anything to say on the topic, Hux?” the man asked almost accusingly.  Hux could read the judgement in the man’s eyes as though Hux was somehow involved or responsible for these allegations.

Hux glared at him.  “I cannot speak for Ren.  I have never spoken for Ren, and if he has anything to say on the subject you will have to ask him yourself,” Hux told him, levelling his coldest glare at the man.

_Ren moaned in bed next to him.  The painkillers weren’t helping enough with his ankle and foot.  He’d been moaning and whimpering for over three hours._

_Hux was tempted to sleep in the guest bedroom, but he was afraid to leave in case Ren needed to use the bathroom or needed a glass of water or something.  The pain only seemed to be getting worse the longer he was home._

_Ren groaned, rolling onto his side and burrowing against Hux.  He was as hot as a furnace, but the last three times that Hux had woken him to take his temperature, it had been normal.  He just gave off entirely too much heat._

_Hux couldn’t deny that he was worried.  It was just a few breaks.  The surgeon had said he expected Ren to make a full recovery.  However, here Ren was in pain and barely able to get out of bed even with Hux’s help._

“ _I need to go to practice,” Ren mumbled in his sleep._

“ _It’s 3AM and you have a shattered ankle, Ren.  Go back to sleep,” Hux told him tiredly._

“ _Can’t miss practice.  Snoke’ll be furious,” Ren said, beginning to thrash beside Hux._

“ _Stop doing that or you’ll hurt yourself,” Hux warned, wrapping his arms around Ren’s waist and pulling him in close._

“ _I need to go.  Need to get this dive.  He’s disappointed…”_

“ _Ren,” Hux whispered, raising his hand and running his fingers through Ren’s hair.  He let his fingers trail over Ren’s forehead and down the side of his face.  “Ren, there’s no practice to get to.  You’re home with me in bed.  You’re safe,” Hux told him, stroking from his temple to cheek._

“ _No, I need—”_

_Hux kissed him softly.  It was a tactic Ren often employed when he didn’t want to hear Hux’s ranting.  Ren’s lips sluggishly returned the kiss, though there was an unpleasant amount of drool involved._

“ _Can I get you some tea or something to eat?” Hux asked when they parted.  His nose still brushed against Ren’s, and he was almost certain there was a strand of Ren’s saliva connecting their mouths._

“ _Am I still in the hospital?” Ren asked, sounding more awake._

“ _You’re at my flat.  You moved in four days ago,” Hux reminded him._

“ _Oh.  You hate having me over because you’re afraid I’ll forget to use a coaster,” Ren mumbled, wrapping his arms around Hux as well and clinging to him._

_Hux laughed softly.  In the four days he’d been there, Ren had been knocked on his ass by the painkillers enough that he couldn’t get up to ruin anything.  Considering the amount of anxiety Hux felt about Ren’s condition, it was still a pleasant reprieve from his careless behavior._

“ _Perhaps I’ll have you trained by the time you’re up to holding your own drinks without spilling on yourself,” Hux told him._

“ _I did that?” Ren asked, sounding surprisingly embarrassed.  Ren wasn’t easy to embarrass._

“ _Several times, in fact.  I didn’t realize how much painkillers affect you,” Hux said, nudging him with his nose._

“ _Yeah...um...are you going to get a new partner?” Ren asked, sounding frightened._

“ _If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, Ren.  I don’t do partners,” Hux assured him, pulling him closer._

“ _It’s just that...Snoke--”_

“ _Let’s not talk about him.  You’ve got a few weeks off.  Try to enjoy them.  I’ll still be here when you’re ready to go back,” Hux said, kissing lightly at Ren’s jaw.  He hadn’t shaved in days, so it was rough and patchy, but Hux ignored that._

“ _Okay.  I-I just don’t want you to replace me.  I know I can do that dive…”_

“ _I’m not replacing you and neither is Snoke.  I know you can do it too.  Even with this setback, you’ll probably master it before I do.  Now, try to rest.  No dreaming about going to practices in the middle of the night.”_

“ _I’ll try.”_

“Do you know why they keep asking about Snoke?” Mitaka asked as they made their way to a late lunch.

Hux sighed.  “No, but Snoke wouldn’t be one to advertise any sort of trouble he’s in,” Hux said, opening his wallet to pay their cab driver.

“He was in trouble in the past,” Mitaka said.

“Yes, a young woman was caught for doping and several illegal enhancement drugs.  She blamed it all on Snoke.  Claimed his practices were torture, claimed he would force her to take the supplements he wanted her to take when she struggled.  Snoke was reprimanded because of her allegations, but no proof of his involvement in her drug use or doping was ever found,” Hux explained.

“But he was involved,” Mitaka said.  It wasn’t a question.  It wasn’t a realization.  Mitaka wasn’t ignorant; he knew that Snoke was willing to do whatever it took to win.

“I’ve never seen anything that would confirm it…”

_Ren’s hands shook as he watched the news.  Ellie Montgomery sat tearfully condemning Snoke in front of a bank of microphones.  “You shouldn’t be watching that garbage,” Hux told him, making a grab for the remote, but Ren was too fast._

“ _Shut up,” Ren told him, tucking the remote into his cast.  Hux wouldn’t go fishing for it in there.  It stank to high heavens no matter how Hux tried to freshen it up._

“ _Ren, she’s just upset she got caught.  People make up stories when they’re—”_

“ _I believe her,” Ren said vehemently._

_Hux looked at him, lip curling in annoyance.  “So you believe her.  There’s no need to watch it played out as a soap opera on the television,” Hux said, picking up the book he’d been reading and carrying to the bedroom._

“ _Hux,” Ren called from the living room just as Hux was getting settled._

_Hux grumbled, but he got up and went back to the living room.  “He never did anything like that to you, right?” Ren asked, itching nervously at the skin beneath the edge of his cast._

“ _No, Ren.  Snoke has never done anything like that to me,” Hux told him, though at the back of his mind he remembered grueling practices that never seemed to end._

“ _Good,” Ren said, sounding relieved._

“ _Was that what you called me out here for?” Hux asked in annoyance._

_Ren winced.  “Can I have some lemonade?” he asked._

_Hux just looked at him for a moment before going to the kitchen to fix him another glass of lemonade.  When he came back with it, Ren’s hands still shook as he tried to take the glass.  Hux sighed, putting it down on a coaster and going back to get Ren a straw._

_Ren turned the television off while Hux was fussing, and Hux took it as the plea to sit with him that it was.  Hux held the glass of lemonade in one hand and his book in the other while Ren leaned against him, sipping his drink slowly._

_Hux should’ve been at practice.  He’d begged off because Ren was having a rough morning getting around the apartment on his crutches.  Now it seemed that Snoke wouldn’t be available until the dust settled.  Hux wasn’t exactly disappointed as Ren slowly nodded off against his shoulder._

“Are they going to be scrutinizing us because of this?” Mitaka asked, shifted the subject enough that Hux didn’t feel cornered anymore.

“Of course, but we have nothing to hide,” Hux told him firmly.  Hux wasn’t doping, wasn’t using any other enhancers.  He didn’t believe Mitaka was either.  Mitaka was too much of a goodie to touch such things.  

“Hux?”

“Yes, Doph?” Hux replied, studying his menu.

“You realize what he did to us yesterday...that’s what these people are talking about, right?” Mitaka asked quietly, as though he was afraid that by speaking it aloud everything around them might come crashing down.

“It was just a hard practice Doph,” Hux said, not looking up from his menu.

“ _Hux_.”

“Don’t do that.  You sound like Ren when you do that,” Hux told him, finally looking up.

There was something akin to pity in Mitaka’s eyes, and it grated on Hux.  Mitaka looked away from his hard eyes and took to staring at his own menu.

“I think I’ll just have something light and eat some of the leftovers when we get back to the room,” he changed the subject completely.

“I’m not particularly hungry myself,” Hux noted, checking the drink menu instead of the food.

They ate their small salads in silence, and Hux managed to squeeze two martinis into the brief meal.  Mitaka’s gaze didn’t get any less pitying throughout the meal or the ride back to the suite.  It exhausted Hux.  

He didn’t need pity.  Snoke was nothing compared to his own father’s training regime.  Snoke didn’t expect the impossible, just the best.  Hux’s father had expected more even when Hux won and set records while doing it.

No, Snoke had never done anything to him that he couldn’t handle.  It was training; it was supposed to hurt.  He wouldn’t be the best if he didn’t put himself through hell and maintain the discipline of a soldier.  

The others, they were just weak.  They couldn’t cut it, and they wanted to remove the blame from themselves.

\---

Ren was smiling when he opened the door for Hux.  “You’re earlier than I expect,” Ren told him, running his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face.

“Don’t flatter yourself.  I didn’t want to be around Mitaka.  He’s giving me weird looks,” Hux said, walking into the room and pushing a bottle of local wine into Ren’s arms.

“Weird looks?  Is he into you?” Ren asked, sounding instantly jealous by the idea of Hux having other suitors.

Hux rolled his eyes.  “No.  If Mitaka was interesting in me, I would’ve said, ‘Mitaka has a crush and it’s too annoying to handle.’ There is a difference,” Hux said, collapsing onto Ren’s sofa.

Poe came out of the shared bedroom in nothing but a towel and gave Hux an odd look as he walked to the refrigerator.  “You drunk, Hux?” Poe asked as he leaned over and dug through the refrigerator’s contents.

Hux shrugged.

Poe laughed, grabbing two bottles of water out of the refrigerator and tossing one to Hux as he walked back to his room.  “I get that Solo drives you to drink, but take it easy man, I’m celebrating my boyfriend’s gold medal tonight, don’t want to have to bail you out again...or Ren when he goes apeshit on whoever you flirt with,” Poe told him, pointing at the bottled insistently.  

“Fuck you, Poe,” Hux told him without any venom behind it.

“Not you, Hux, but that’s the general idea later on,” Poe retorted.

Hux laughed in spite of himself, opening the bottle as Poe continued into his room.

Ren was looking at him in concern as he took a long gulp of water.  “Why are you drunk at 3PM?” he asked.

“I’m not drunk, just a little tipsy.  There is a difference,” Hux replied.

Ren shook his head and came to sit beside Hux.  His fingers found their way into Hux’s hair almost immediately, and Hux sighed as he massaged his scalp.  

“Sorry I left before you woke.  I needed to take my medication before I headed to press with Poe,” Ren told him, resting his head against Hux’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it.  It wasn’t like we could have a morning quickie with Mitaka right there.”

Ren smiled at him.  “We could’ve.”

“You are as quiet as a car crash,” Hux retorted, pushing Ren’s head away.  “I need food.”

“When was the last time you ate?” Ren asked, studying his face.

“I had a salad for lunch.”

Ren narrowed his eyes.  “And before that what did you eat?”

Hux sighed again.  “I had a few bites of the salad you sent me yesterday…”

“Fuck!  No wonder you’re drunk.  You haven’t eaten in a day.  Let’s go, I’m taking you to dinner,” Ren told him, standing up.

“I can’t be seen with you.  We hate each other…”

“I don’t give a fuck, Hux.  You need to eat, or you aren’t going to be in any condition to dive in the qualifiers,” Ren argued.

“I don’t need your coddling, Ren.  I am not even hungry,” Hux insisted, but Ren rolled his eyes at him.

“I’m calling a cab,” Ren said in a tone that brooked no argument.

“I said we could get delivery…”

“You didn’t eat the last delivery I sent.  I’m not just going to sit here and watch you starve yourself because you’re upset about god knows what.  In case you don’t remember, I lived with you.  I remember how you’d forget to eat for days when something was bugging you.  I remember how you’d start fights just to distract me from your shitty habits,” Ren told him.

Hux took a long breath in and out.  Ren had no right to point these things out.  Hux took care of himself.  He didn’t need Ren scrutinizing him.

“ _Hux you can barely stand.  You’ve been working too hard,” Ren said as Hux tried to pour himself a glass of wine after a long practice._

“ _Shut up and go back to whatever you were doing.  I’m fine,” Hux insisted.  He was actually far from it with a back spasm that was making it hard to stand or sit or lie down.  He’d hit the water wrong, and everything in his back had gone to hell._

“ _No, come sit down without the wine,” Ren insisted, patting the sofa cushion beside him.  He’d downgraded from cast to boot, but he still couldn’t walk well or stand on it for long periods._

“ _I’m taking a shower...with my wine.  Then I’m going to bed,” Hux told him, picking up his glass and walking toward the bedroom._

_He was surprised when Ren stood up and stalked over to him with the pronounced limp from his boot.  He grabbed Hux around the waist, and Hux gasped as pain shot through his already aching back._

_The glass of wine shattered on the wood floor and Hux had to clutch at Ren not to collapse to the floor with it._

“ _What the hell?” Ren asked, loosening his grip and cradling Hux to him gently._

“ _Why can’t you just let me do what I say I’m going to?” Hux asked, allowing Ren to lead him to the sofa now that his wine was all over the floor._

“ _You’re hurt.”_

“ _I’m fine._

_Hux refused to speak to Ren any further as they sat on the sofa.  He didn’t stop Ren from inspecting his back, but he didn’t give any feedback.  Ren helped him to bed and didn’t say anything as they laid on their own sides of the bed._

_\---_

“ _You can’t practice like that.”_

“ _I can do what I want,” Hux retorted.  It had sounded a lot less petulant in Hux’s head._

“ _Then I’m coming with you, and we’re picking up breakfast on the way.  Wine isn’t part of the food pyramid no matter how much of it you drink,” Ren told him, adjusting the boot on his foot._

“ _You can barely walk in that thing,” Hux retorted._

“ _You can barely walk with your back all jacked up.”_

_Hux scowled, but he held the door for Ren as they left._

_Breakfast consisted of eggs and toast and too much strong tea.  None of it settled well in Hux’s stomach, and the drive to the pool was uncomfortable due to more than the tense silence in the car._

_When they got to the private pool that Hux swam at, it was empty.  Snoke was still suspended from coaching, and Hux was the only one that ever used the thing other than Ren._

_Hux walked stiffly into the building and turned on the lights.  His father had bought the facility.  He staffed several maintenance people, but other than that it was Hux’s private sanctuary.  It was one of the few gifts Hux’s father had ever given him...though it came with a caveat.  Hux needed to show results if his father was going to keep it.  It always came down to image and prestige with him._

_Ren grabbed Hux before he could walk away from him.  “I want to swim for a bit,” he said, running his fingertips down Hux’s arm._

_Hux looked at Ren’s foot then the water.  It would be good to be able to move it a bit.  The physical therapist had mentioned the pool might be a good idea.  Hux sighed, nodding his head.  He knew Ren was using the injury to manipulate him, but Ren needed exercise as much as Hux needed a break._

“ _Just the shallows.  No swimming,” Hux told him._

_Neither bothered with a suit as they stripped down.  Hux slowly waded into the shallow end of the pool as Ren sat on the edge of the pool at the steps.  Hux unfastened Ren’s boot and put it to the side before nodding that Ren could come in._

_Ren crab walked down the steps one at a time, keeping his leg floating on the surface.  Once he was up to his chest, he sat on the third step and let Hux take hold of his foot._

_Hux slowly stretched his foot, rotating it.  He studied Ren’s face to make sure that he wasn’t causing him any pain.  Ren seemed contented though.  He sat there waving his hands gently through the water as Hux worked on him._

“ _Are you pleased with yourself?” Hux asked, rotating Ren’s ankle again gently._

“ _You never listen to me unless I do something worse than whatever bullshit you plan to do,” Ren told him, bringing his hand up and splashing Hux lightly._

_Hux scowled, swatting the water to splash Ren in return.  “You and your logic are childish,” Hux said, lowering Ren’s foot and reaching out for Ren to come to him.  Ren didn’t waste any time pushing off the step and slowly floating toward Hux._

_He wrapped his arms around Hux’s shoulders and pushed him toward the side of the pool.  Hux stepped over to the side and faced the wall, allowing Ren to massage his tense lower back beneath the water._

_Ren rested his chin on Hux’s shoulder as he worked on the painful muscles in Hux’s back.  “These aren’t going to get better over night.  You’ll need to rest and ice this,” Ren said, but his hands felt wonderful.  “And you’ll need to eat better than you have been.”_

“ _You eat worse than anyone I’ve ever met before, so you don’t have a leg to stand on...no pun intended,” Hux told him._

“ _Your jokes are awful.  I’ll eat better if you do,” Ren said, pressing into the area that was giving Hux the most trouble._

“ _Fine.”_

“ _Good.  Turn around.”_

_Hux rolled his eyes, but he turned in Ren arms, and he didn’t complain as Ren disappeared beneath the surface of the water.  He sighed as Ren wrapped his lips around the head of his cock.  Hux had never met anyone who could hold their breath as long as Ren, and it seemed that weeks out of commission had not shortened that._

“ _You bastard,” Hux groaned as Ren swallowed him down, working the base of his shaft with his hand.  He gripped the lip of the pool tightly as Ren’s tongue felt like heaven against him.  He cursed as Ren pulled off and came up for breath._

_Ren’s eyes were bright as he looked up at Hux, taking several slow breaths.  He never stopped stroking Hux though._

_Hux tipped his head back, resting it against the edge of the pool as Ren sank back beneath the surface._

“Cab will be here in five.  Is that what you’re wearing?” Ren asked, holding his phone accusingly at Hux.

“What is wrong with what I’m wearing?” Hux asked him, refusing to look down at his outfit.  

Ren sighed.  “You’re wearing a sweater vest, Hux,” he said, waving his hand up and down at him.  

“Yes, people wear sweater vests over their shirts sometimes,” Hux retorted.  He knew Ren hated his collection of them, but few things kept his core warm without overheating the rest of him the way a sweat vest did.  Perhaps it was just a habit from boarding school.

Ren rolled his eyes, but Hux didn’t give in to the pressure.  He was better dressed than Ren who was wearing ripped black jeans and a t-shirt from what Hux assumed was a band he’d never heard of.  Ren was lucky that Hux would be seen with him in public at all.

“Where are we going?” Hux asked once Ren had given the cab driver the address.  Ren was sitting far too close to him to look platonic.  Hux could feel Ren’s every breath against his ribs.

“You’ll see,” Ren told him.

Hux sighed, but he didn’t complain further.  When the cab stopped along an oceanfront road, Hux looked over at Ren.  “This is us,” Ren told him, taking his hand and pulling him out of the cab.  

“The side of the road, really?” Hux asked as Ren tugged him toward the foliage.

“Just shut up and walk,” Ren said, leading the way.  

Hux followed him down a narrow trail that led to a secluded beach.  Hux’s breath caught at the beauty of the natural beach.  “This isn’t a restaurant,” he said, following Ren down to the water’s edge.

“I do sometimes listen when you speak,” Ren told him, bending to unlace his boots.  Hux did the same, rolling up his pants so they wouldn’t get wet either.

“And what are we having for dinner,” Hux asked.

Ren took him by the shoulders and turned him to face the beach.  A little ways down the beach a picnic blanket was set up with several baskets which presumably held food.  

“How?” Hux asked, walking toward the setup.

“I paid a guy.  Just had to text him to let him know when we’d be getting here,” Ren said, sounding pleased with himself.

“I told you not to get romantic…”

“You said you didn’t want to go out in public.  I figured this didn’t count as public, so I’d get a pass on the romance,” Ren said, bending over and opening one of the baskets to reveal a bottle of wine and a plate of breads and cheeses.

“This is disgustingly romantic,” Hux told him, accepting a cheese cube that Ren lifted to place on his tongue.

“Just let me be romantic for once.  It won’t hurt you to enjoy something, I promise,” Ren told him, lifting the bottle and thumbing off the already loosened cork.  He dropped the cork back into the basket and removed two stemless wine glasses.

“You’ve thought of everything,” Hux said, impressed by the setup.  Ren so rarely planned anything ahead of time.  He was incredibly intelligent, but planning ahead was not his forte.  That was one reason they worked so well.  Hux planned ahead, and Ren dealt with things when the plan fell apart in the moment.

Ren handed him a glass of white wine and held his own.  They clicked their glasses together before wandering back toward the water.  Neither spoke as they walked along the water’s edge, toes digging into the sand.  Hux almost tripped when Ren’s hand slipped against his own, clearly looking to be held.

“Disgustingly romantic,” Ren muttered, taking Ren’s hand in his own and continuing to walk along the water’s edge.  Every once in awhile Ren’s big feet would accidentally—or not so accidentally—splash Hux’s legs.  Hux retaliated swiftly, soaking much more of Ren in the process.

Eventually, they moved back to the blanket, and Ren unpacked some of the cheese and bread.  Hux wrinkled his nose as Ren tried to feed it to him, but he went with it.  The sound of the ocean lapping at the shore did funny things to him, easing the anger and stress he’d felt all day and washing away thoughts of Snoke.

“You need to eat before you have more wine,” Ren whispered, leaning in to nip at Hux’s neck.

“I am not on the menu, Ren,” Hux chastised him, plucking a piece of cheese from the plate and feeding it to Ren.  

Ren nipped at Hux’s fingertips as he accepted the morsel.  They fed each other, sometimes teasing each other as they did so.  Hux could admit that it was probably the nicest date he’d ever been on.  He’d certainly never done this with Ren before, even at their wedding.

The meal itself was simple, marinated grilled chicken and fresh vegetables over quinoa with a homemade dressing.  Nothing that would go bad waiting for them, and it fell within the parameters of Hux’s diet.  Ren had gone all out.

They were both pleasantly buzzed by the time they finished their meals. Ren got more and more tactile as the night went on. They laid out on the blankets, looking up at the stars that they could see with the amount of light pollution.

“It's beautiful out here,” Hux admitted as Ren slowly unbuttoned his shirt for him. He'd lost the sweater vest hours ago, and Ren had lost his shirt at some point as well. Ren played with the buttons before undoing each one, kissing Hux's chest as each new inch of skin was revealed.

“One of the locals told me about it,” Ren mumbled against Hux's skin.

“Since when did you get to know all the locals?” Hux asked, running his fingers through Ren's hair.

“I always talk to the locals when we go places,” Ren said, sounding offended. He undid the last button on Hux's shirt then rolled away as Hux shrugged it off.

“What are you up to?” Hux asked when Ren rolled back over holding up a container of fruits as well as several dessert sauces.

“Dessert,” he said, opening one of the sauces and tipping the fruit reduction over Hux's belly.

“You can't be serious,” Hux said, looking down at his stomach which was covered in a still warm sauce.

Ren wasted no time plucking a strawberry from the bunch and smearing it through the mess on Hux's belly. He brought the fruit to his lips and bit into in, maintaining eye contact with Hux.  Hux felt a shive traverse his spine as the juice and sauce dripped onto Ren’s full lips.

Hux bit his lower lip as Ren picked up a piece of pineapple and gave it the same treatment before bringing it to Hux's lips. Hux daintily licked at the sauce dripping down the side of the fruit before accepting the whole piece.

It was delicious, and he moaned softly as he watched Ren pick up a different sauce. This one was thicker and Ren scooped some of it out with his finger. He brought it to his own chest and spread it over his nipple.

Hux watched him hungrily as Ren straddled him, leaning over Hux until his chest was right above his face. Hux stretched up and took Ren's nipple between his teeth, sucking the nutella off of it and teasing it at the same time.

Ren moaned loudly as Hux pulled back, picking up a slice of apple from the container and taking a bite of it.

“Shit,” Ren groaned as he looked down at Hux.

“You are ridiculous,” Hux said, picking up a grape and offering it to Ren. Ren sucked on his fingers as he accepted the fruit.

The game was sexy until it suddenly wasn't. Sand became involved as did the stickiness of the sauces and spreads. Both of them were fully hard and covered in smears of sauce.

“This is disgusting,” Hux complained, lying naked on the blanket. His chest and legs completely sticky.

“I can fix that,” Ren told him, getting up and dragging Hux up as well. They walked down to the water, wading into it. The surf crashed around them, but they swam out beyond the first break.

“This cannot be good for the wild life,” Hux insisted, but Ren cut off his protests with a gentle kiss.

“Just relax for a minute,” Ren told him, kissing down his neck and over his shoulders.

They moved against each other in the water, stroking and caressing each other's bodies. Hux couldn't help but relax in Ren's arms when it seemed like nothing existed but them and the stars.

He moaned softly as Ren stroked him, and he tried to return the favor. Hux ended up wrapping his legs around Ren's waist, moving against Ren so that their cocks slid together.   

When they were both spent and mostly clean, they made their way back to the blankets and collapsed.  The blanket was miraculously not sticky, and they laid together watching the stars, letting their skin dry in the cool evening air.

“Are you going to be okay?” Ren asked, holding Hux to his chest.  “You haven’t been taking good care of yourself, and now with the new focus on Snoke…” Ren trailed off because they both knew how well Hux took care of himself when left to his own devices.

Hux trailed his fingertips across Ren’s ribs and belly, enjoying the strong muscle he could feel beneath.  “I also come through, Ren.  This isn’t the first time I’ve been through this,” Hux replied.

“I’m here,” Ren told him, catching Hux’s wrist and bringing his fingers to his lips to kiss each tip.

“And I’m here for you,” Hux said, kissing lightly at Ren’s neck.  He felt Ren turn his head away from him.

“We’ll see how long that lasts,” Ren mumbled, sitting up.  “We should be getting back,” he said, pulling out his phone and calling for a cab.

They quietly packed their things and headed back up toward the road.  Hux didn’t like the implication of Ren’s words, and as soon as they were back in Ren’s rooms he pounced.

He pushed Ren back against the door as it swung closed.  Ren caught him easily, wrapping him in strong arms and kissing him hungrily.

“I figured you’d be tired,” Ren whispered as they broke for breath.

“I refuse to let the night end on your morose mumblings,” Hux insisted, pinning Ren to the wall and pressing his thigh between Ren’s legs.  Hux sucked a bruise into Ren’s neck as he moved his leg to create friction against Ren.

Ren moaned loudly, pushing his hips forward against Hux’s leg.  However, as soon as Hux released one of Ren’s wrists in order to unfasten his belt, Ren moved.

He grabbed Hux around the waist and lifted him up, striding to the bedroom as Hux struggled awkwardly in his arms.  Ren threw him down on the bed, following him before Hux could get his wits about him again.

He wrestled Hux down onto his back and undid his belt with his teeth as he held Hux in place.  Hux felt his pulse race just watching Ren work his pants open with nothing but his mouth.

Ren held both of Hux’s wrists in one strong hand as he tugged Hux pants down his thighs.  Hux moaned as he wasted no time in taking him in his mouth.  Ren worked him up, teasing the head and nipping very lightly along the shaft.  The anticipation of pain left Hux breathless, but Ren never caused him any discomfort.

When Hux was aroused to the point of being barely coherent from Ren’s all out assault on his senses, Ren flipped him onto his belly and spread his cheeks.  Hux gripped the sheets as Ren’s tongue lapped at his ass, nudging his hole before retreating.

Hux ground his hips into the mattress to build friction as Ren pressed his tongue against him little harder.  Hux hadn’t been prepared for this.  He’d anticipated toying with Ren, and he simply couldn’t control his body’s reaction now that the tables were turned.

“Fuck,” Hux cursed, hating the way his voice cracked as Ren pressed his tongue inside him.  Hux felt like his whole body was too hot as he jerked his hips forward then brought them back against Ren’s eager mouth.

Hux couldn’t control the volume of his cry as he felt his balls tighten and the accompanying rush of pleasure.  He whimpered against his fist as his cock spilled over the sheets, and Ren continued to lick and suck at his ass.  

Shivering as his sensitive cock rubbed against the bedding, Hux reached down to touch Ren’s hand where it rested on his hip.  Ren pulled back, hair falling in his eyes and saliva covering the lower half of his face.

“I’m done,” Hux informed him, though he couldn’t imagine that Ren wasn’t aware from that angle.

Ren grinned at him, moving his hand over just enough to squeeze Hux’s ass.  Hux made an undignified noise as Ren slapped his cheek gently, causing the pale flesh to jiggle.

“I’m not done with you though,” Ren told him, rolling him onto his back again and lying over him.  “I owe you for the other night, and I’m going to paid my debt with interest,” he said, leaning down to kiss Hux until they were both breathless.  

Hux was going to protest, or at least insist it be a mutual arrangement, but Ren began to play with his nipples and Hux lost all focus.

\---

Hux adjusted himself in his trunks.  He went over his dives in his head as he stretched.  His leg was doing better today.  His mind was still a storm of worries, but he was rested enough to push most of it out of his mind.  

He was sitting patiently for the trainer as they taped up his thigh when Kylo walked through already wearing the usual tape over his lower back.  

“Mr. Solo, I can redo that for you.  It’s not done properly,” one of the female trainers told him.

Ren stopped in his tracks, looking at her oddly.

“My what?” He asked, glancing down at his crotch as though he was expecting the trunks to have finally given up and to find his cock hanging out.

“Your back support.  The KT tape?” she said, sounding unsure as Ren continued to look at her oddly.

“Dive In,” Hux called from where he was lying.

Ren’s head snapped up and met his eyes.  His cheeks colored for a moment before he looked down at the woman.  “Thank you, but it’s fine.  My back is fine,” he told her, reaching back and rubbing the tape like he was worried it might fall off.  

“Serves him right,” Hux mumbled to himself as the trainer finished up.  He stood up and did a few more stretches to get used to the tape on his leg.  Afterward, he walked out to find Mitaka.  

With the drama around Snoke at the moment, Hux was unsure whether he’d show his face or if he was even allowed to.  Hux was used to going through his rituals on his own, but he wasn’t sure whether Mitaka was prepared to dive without a coach right there.

“You look well rested,” Ren said, appearing out of nowhere.

Hux frowned at him.  “Don’t sound so proud of yourself,” Hux told him.

“Why would I be proud.  I only got you off four times and exhausted you to the point where you couldn’t get out of bed.  Nothing to be proud of there.  It’s not like I did it with only my mouth or anythi—oh wait, I did,” Ren teased him.

Hux sent a glare in his direction.  “Do you want a thank you card or something?  I can have my assistant pen one if you’d like,” Hux deadpanned.

“No thanks necessary, Hux.  The pictures of you sprawled on the bed are enough for me.”

“You will delete any photos of me in any compromising positions…”

“Mmm and the video of you riding my face…”

“You’re teasing me,” Hux said, knowing for certain that Ren had been incapable of filming anything while Hux knelt over his mouth.  

“You’re easy to tease,” Ren told him.

“You’re in an awfully cheerful mood for a man about to be humiliated.

“I love it when you humiliate me,” Ren retorted.

Hux sighed, throwing his hands up in the air.  “You are worse than when we first met.”

“You’re blushing.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Ren, but I am a redhead.  I am constantly blushing, it’s my complexion.”

“Whatever you say, Hux.” Ren walked away with too much spring in his step.  Hux was feeling just a little of that as he made his way over to the hot tub to wait his turn.  

Hux sat in the hot water, enjoying the jet pushing a stream of hot water against his lower back.   Poe hopped in as he sat there, propping his legs up on the bench beside Hux.

“Solo’s got quite the pep in his step today,” Poe commented.  

“I hadn’t noticed,” Hux retorted, giving Poe a sardonic look.

“Man, I think the International Space Station put out a warning about solar flares because Ren’s smile is so bright today.

“Is there a point to your nonsense?” Hux asked him.  

“Just making conversation.  It’s good to see him smile is all.  He’s been working really hard on himself, probably more than he’s been working on his dives.”

“That’s why he’ll never be the best,” Hux said, rising from the water and putting a leg over the side of the tub.

“Ben doesn’t want to be the best, Hux.  He just wants someone to be proud of him,” Poe said, his words holding Hux hostage for a moment.

“Don’t we all,” Hux said, walking away.  

“I appreciate you, Hux!” Poe shouted at his back.  Hux flipped him the bird over his shoulder as he went to wait.  He could hear Poe’s laughter from across the deck.

Hux and Ren dove close to each other in the lineup, and Hux caught Ren showering after three of his dives.  Ren stood there subtly flexing as Hux walked over from the pool.  It was ridiculous.  

The first time, he found Ren with both hands on the wall and his ass sticking out.  Hux rolled his eyes, holding himself back from flicking Ren with the end of his towel.  As Hux got closer, Ren tipped his head forward under the spray of water then flipped his hair back.  

The cameraman that was standing over there acted like he’d just gotten the shot of a lifetime, but Hux shook his head.  “Perhaps if you’d stop preening like a peacock, you might improve your dives,” he said, standing beneath his own shower.

“Maybe if you stretched a little, you wouldn’t look like a crash test dumby when you dive,” Ren retorted.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Hux told him, splashing him as he turned the water off.  

“Don’t start a war you can’t win,” Ren warned him, giving him a look that said that Hux should most definitely start a war.

“You are the most ill-prepared person ever, I’ll take my chances,” Hux said, flicking more water at him.

Ren shook his head, but he walked away.  The camera was still on them, but Hux knew that Ren would have his revenge.

Revenge came after the second round when Hux slipping into the hot tub so that his thigh didn’t tighten up.  He pushed himself into the corner, reaching down to rub his leg.  

He didn’t even look up when someone else climbed in as well.  “Your hips were rotated on the entry,” Ren said, sitting opposite Hux.  

“You need to get your eyes checked,” Hux retorted.

“I’m not the one who ruined his eyes staying up all night to watch videos of himself in the dark.  They probably have a name for that...” Ren teased him.

Hux glared at him as Ren’s foot crept up Hux’s leg beneath the water.  For anyone outside the tub, it looked as though they were having a heated discussion.  However, Ren’s leg continued to creep higher until it pressed against Hux’s groin.

“I didn’t need to see your dive to hear how big the splash was, Ren.  Honestly, they should put out a small craft advisory when you go near the water,” Hux told him, trying to keep a straight face as the ball of Ren’s foot massaged him.

“Would you have liked a small craft advisory before I got in here, Hux?” Ren asked him, pressing harder against him to make his point.

Hux bit the inside of his cheek as Ren continued to fondle him.  When the next diver came by, he took one look at their expressions and jumped into the other hot tub.   Hux grabbed Ren by the ankle, but stopped what he was about to do when he felt the surgical scar beneath his fingertips.

Ren pointed his foot, putting a wonderful pressure against Hux’s crotch as Hux soothed his finger over the scar tissue.  “You need to get out,” Hux told him quietly.

“You’ve been in longer,” Ren told him.

“ _Ren_.”

Ren just smirked at him as he slowly pulled himself out of the water.  He made sure to stretch and flex as he climbed over the side and slowly wiped himself off with his towel.  Hux felt like he was watching a porno as Ren twisted the water out of the rag then brought it down over his chest to mop up the droplets still clinging there.

Hux was having no luck getting himself under control even with Ren not touching him.  He glared as he jumped out himself, positioning his body behind the hot tub to avoid anyone noticing his predicament.

“I will repay this,” Hux told him, willing the flush of his skin to diminish.

Ren just tilted his head at Hux like he was completely ignorant of what Hux was talking about.  Hux felt his skin heat more.

Barely under control, Hux stalked back to the waiting area.   Ren wasn’t far behind him, looking smug in his obnoxiously colored Speedo.  Honestly, the American team needed a lesson in tact.  He was pretty sure that wearing the flag on one’s ass should’ve been frowned upon, and the splashes of grating colors were no better.  Hux was thankful for his plain blue trunks, even if all of the noise going on on Ren’s briefs would’ve done a better job of hiding a semi.

Not that there was any way to hide Ren getting a semi, which was Hux’s whole plan for the next round...other than scoring a decent dive.  The dive was important...revenge was also important even if it was petty revenge.

Hux’s third round dive was flawless.  He always started his harder dives with something difficult to put some distance between himself and the competition, and also to strike fear into their hearts.  

Standing on the edge of the platform, he took a series of slow breathes as he lifted his hands from his sides.  This was his stage. This was where he was triumphant, and he always took a brief moment to enjoy the feeling of being on top of the world.  

With one last settling breath, Hux engaged every muscle in his legs to launch himself up into a double twist before tucking into a somersault and rotating three and a half times.  He straightened his body at the last moment and cut through the water cleanly.

Releasing his breath as he swam to the side of the pool, Hux climbed the stairs with a lightness to his shoulders.  And then he saw Ren, standing beneath the shower, bending over to touch his toes.  It looked like he was just stretching out, but Hux knew better.

Hux walked over, turning on his own shower, and rested one hand on the wall as he put his head under the spray.  He waited for Ren to glance to the side before slipping his free hand into his Speedo and adjusting himself...right at Ren’s eye level.  

Ren breathed in sharply.  “Tightening up already, Ren?” Hux asked, basking in the double entendre as he continued to touch himself right beside Ren.  He managed to make it look like a simple adjustment to the outside observer, but it was all for Ren’s benefit.

“I’m as loose as can be,” Ren retorted, straightening up as Hux removed his hand from his pants.

Hux eyed Ren’s crotch as Ren carefully faced the wall in case the cameraman was filming them.

“Too bad the same can’t be said about your Speedo,” Hux said smartly, turning off the water and walking away.  Hux laughed as Ren turned the hot water off completely and just stood under the cold spray for a minute before following him.

\---

“Over at the Aquatic Center, things are heating up.” The useless American anchor announced through the television.  Hux glanced at the offending device.

“Why are we watching the American coverage?” Hux asked, walking past Ren to the kitchenette.

“Because I’m American, and that’s what I have access to...if I want to understand what they’re saying,” Ren retorted.  He was seated on the floor, fiddling with the laundry he’d done after competition.

“Why do you need to understand what they’re say—”

“Hux and Solo’s rivalry is the hottest thing in the pool.  Barbs were shared between each round of the preliminaries,” the middle aged man said before a short clip of Hux scowling at Ren played on the television that Ren had hooked up to his laptop.  

“You look like you just choked on one of my pubes,” Ren said, laughing at his own joke.

“Turn this nonsense off,” Hux complained, scowling much as he had been on the television.

“Oh no, I want to see you do your fifth dive again.  That was awesome,” Ren said, blocking Hux from getting near his laptop.

Hux sighed, taking a seat on the sofa and spreading his legs so Ren could sit on the floor between them.  

Ren made him watch each of their dives with the commentary between them.  Hux was appalled at the cameraman filming them in the hot tub together, but it only got worse from there.  Though their untimely erections were always out of shot, their heated expressions and barbs were easily caught by the camera.

Hux got hot hearing himself taunt Ren about his fifth round dive as he watched Ren palm himself in the hot tub.  Ren had had his whole cock out, squeezing the hell out of it to get himself to calm down.  Hux had forgotten how turned on Ren got when Hux did an excellent dive.  

“This is pornographic,” Hux complained as he ate the leftovers they’d pilfered from his own room.  

“I’m going to need to download this,” Ren said, rewinding to watch as Hux bent over in the showers while trying to stretch over his thigh.  Ren came by, brushing past him too closely and Hux almost hopped against the tile wall as Ren’s cock brushed his ass.

“You are pitiful.”

“This rivalry seems to bring out the best in these two, but if I were their coaches I’d be worried they might start a fist fight,” one of the commentators said.  Hux snorted.  Who on earth would start a fist fight with Ren?  Honestly, it was absurd.  

“I agree, Helen.  They are going for each other.  Especially with the allegations against Hux’s coach, he could easily be a loose cannon in the semis and finals.  Ben Solo is pushing all his buttons, and Hux has no one to reel him in and remind him where his focus should be,” the man said, sounding like he believed he knew what he was talking about.

“What a load of garbage.  Like Snoke was ever the one to keep me focused.  I’m insulted by their ignorance,” Hux complained.  Ren had always steadied Hux, even more than Hux might have wanted.  Just Ren’s presence brought Hux to a higher level.

Ren turned his head to kiss Hux’s knee, but he didn’t comment.  He was still watching the coverage intently.

“I don’t know, John.  Both men brought their A game today.  Maybe the rivalry is good for them.  It’s certainly great for us viewers,” she said.

Hux rolled his eyes.  “They sicken me,” he said, trying to get up, but Ren grabbed his legs and held him in place.  

“I’ve got a cure for that,” Ren said, turning so that he was kneeling in front of Hux.

“You are pitiful, Ren,” Hux told him, but he didn’t stop Ren from tugging down his athletic pants.  Ren massaged him through his boxers for a moment, teasing him to attention before gripping the front of his underwear and tugging them down his thighs as Hux lifted his hips.

“I’m the hottest thing in the pool,” Ren retorted.  The bravado was all false.  Ren constantly doubted himself, but he could play it up when it was just the two of them.

Hux snorted, but he nearly choked on it as Ren mouthed at the head of his cock.  Sighing, Hux leaned back and rested his head against the couch.  

Ren teased him with his tongue, swirling it around the head then down the shaft.  Hux bit his lower lip as Ren placed his whole mouth around him, swallowing Hux down almost to the root.  

Reaching forward, Hux buried his fingers in Ren’s hair, holding his head in place.  Ren didn’t fight him, humming against his skin.  Hux sucked in a sharp breath, releasing it in a long moan.  

Ren’s mouth was perfect.  Even held in place by Hux’s grip, his tongue never stopped moving.  “You’re trying to distract me,” Hux told him, lifting his hips to fuck up into Ren’s mouth.  

Ren grunted, lifting his hand to cup Hux’s testicles as well.  Hux squeezed his eyes closed as Ren massaged them lightly. He felt consumed by Ren’s attentions, helpless to concentrate on anything but Ren’s mouth and hands.

“Fuck, I’m close,” Hux warned him, embarrassed by how easily Ren could get him to the brink.

Ren hummed again, swallowing against Hux’s cock, and Hux arched up off the couch, gripping Ren’s hair as though to keep himself from floating away.  He whimpered as Ren slipped his middle finger back behind Hux’s balls as he continued to massage them.  Hux felt his whole body hum in pleasure as Ren rubbed the pad of his finger against Hux’s ass.  

“Shit,” Hux cursed, unable to stop himself from thrusting up into Ren’s mouth further.  He wasn’t ready when Ren pressed just the very tip of his finger into him.  It was overwhelming, causing his entire body to tighten.  He pulsed in Ren’s mouth, spilling down his throat as the rest of his body went limp.

Ren’s eyes never left his as he sucked him through his orgasm before slowly pulling back and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.  He squeezed Hux’s bare thigh before standing, wrapping his arm around Hux’s waist and lifting his hips enough to tug up his underwear.  Hux whimpered as Ren tucked his spent cock back into his boxers then leaned over to kiss Hux softly.

Hux reached forward, attempting to catch Ren by the hip to return the favor, but Ren knocked his fingers away.  He tugged down his shorts and briefs to reveal that he’d come all on his own.  Ren knelt on the sofa with his knees on either side of Hux’s thighs, and he held his soft cock to Hux’s lips.  

“Clean me up?” he prompted.  

Hux met his gaze, leaning forward and licking lightly at the head of Ren’s cock.  He watched Ren shudder and reach forward to grip Hux’s shoulder with his free hand.  Hux kept his licks gentle, knowing that Ren would be very sensitive.  

Ren shook his cock when Hux leaned back enough to see if it was clean.  He laughed softly when his shaking caused his cock to hit Hux’s chin, leaving a smear of come in its wake.

“Charming,” Hux deadpanned, sticking out his tongue to try to get at the mess but not succeeding.

Ren smiled, using it thumb to wipe it up then offering it to Hux.  Hux sucked Ren’s thumb hard, swirling his tongue around it much as Ren had done to his cock.  

“Shit,” Ren groaned, collapsing into Hux’s lap and gripping the nape of his neck to pull Hux into a sloppy kiss.  Hux obliged, meeting Ren’s own enthusiasm.  

“We take you now to a special report on the allegations against champion diving coach, Alfred Snoke.  While Snoke’s current athletes claim never to have seen his sadistic coaching methods, more athletes are coming forward with their own stories.  Here with us now in the studio is retired American diver and coach Luke Skywalker.

“Fuck,” Ren cursed, pushing away from Hux so fast that he clipped Hux in the chest with his elbow.  

Hux gasped, trying to take a breath as Ren’s move knocked the wind out of him.  Ren scrambled for his laptop, trying to pause it and ending up yanking at the hdmi cable viciously.

“Now Luke, you used to coach your nephew, Ben Solo, before he began working with Coach Snoke,” the host said, sitting on a sofa in a ridiculously contrived set.  It even had a fireplace.  Hux didn’t know why they would need a fireplace at the Summer Olympics.  Even if it wasn’t summer in this country, it certainly wasn’t cold.

“I did,” Luke told the man.  

“Leave it,” Hux rasped, leaning forward in interest.  However, Ren slammed the screen of his laptop down so hard that Hux was certain he’d shattered it.  “What the hell?” Hux asked.

Ren looked anxious as he got up from the floor and stalked into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.  Hux stared at the busted laptop in front of him then slowly looked over at the closed door.

Sighing, Hux got up and got himself a bottle of water.  He took one for Ren as well before walking over to the bedroom door.  He didn’t bother to knock before he opened it and stepped in.  Ren wasn’t in the bedroom, and the bathroom door was closed.

He heard the shower turn on, but he waited several minutes before walking to the bathroom door and opening that without a knock as well.  

Ren faced the wall with his back to Hux as he stood beneath the steaming water.  Hux put the lid of the toilet down and sat on it before toeing the door closed again.  

“What was that all about?” Hux asked after a minute of watching the water slip down Ren’s tense back.

“You don’t want to know,” Ren told him, sounding too breathy for Hux’s liking.

“Did you part with Skywalker on bad terms?” Hux asked, vaguely remembering the man who coach Ren at the previous Olympics.  He’d aged a great deal since then.  

“I don’t want to talk about it, Hux.  You can’t refuse to hear my story then pry into my life when you feel like it,” Ren told him.  Ren never wanted to talk about it.  He’d never spoken about how his career in America had ended.  He’d only showed up in London, blew his money on a tiny flat, and demanded Hux work with him.

The steam in the room was making it hard to see Ren through the curtain.  Hux put down his water and stripped out of his clothes.  He tugged the curtain open and stepped in behind Ren, pressing his chest to Ren’s back.  Kissing his shoulders, Hux wrapped his arms around Ren’s waist.  

He pressed his forehead between Ren’s shoulder blades and just held him for a minute.  “Has my ability to comfort improved at all?” Hux asked.  He sucked a light bruise into Ren’s shoulder teasingly.

Ren snorted, placing his hand over Hux’s where they were folded over his belly.  “I mean, keeping your mouth shut is a step in the right direction,” Ren told him, still sounding upset.

Hux rolled his eyes before pressing another kiss to Ren’s back.  He grabbed the soap and began to clean Ren’s body.  Ren hummed in appreciation as Hux knelt down to wash Ren’s legs and ass.  He kissed each of Ren’s cheeks once the stream of the shower washed the suds away.

Ren whimpered softly, spreading his legs a little further apart.  Hux bit his right cheek lightly before standing up again.

“I can’t kneel down there long enough to get you off without losing the ability to stand up,” Hux told him apologetically, rubbing Ren’s ass with his hands.  With anyone else, Hux would’ve pushed through and suffered for it.  It wasn’t worth hiding from Ren.  Ren tended to yell when Hux put himself in jeopardy.  Hux gladely returned the favor when Ren was hardheaded.  

“We should get out anyway and get some rest,” Ren told him, finally turning to face Hux.

Ren’s eyes were glassy, and Hux pulled him close.  Ren buried his face in Hux’s neck, breathing raggedly.

“Come on,” Hux said, turning off the water and guiding Ren to bed.  He used a towel to dry Ren’s skin before pulling back the covers.  Ren laid down without complaint, and Hux followed him as soon as he was dry.

Ren settled himself in Hux’s arms and began twisting the ring on Hux’s middle finger just the way Hux often did.  Hux wasn’t even sure that Ren was conscious of what he was doing as Hux held him.

“I’m your family,” Hux said, pressing a kiss to Ren’s head. It just slipped out without Hux’s permission, but it wasn’t a lie.

Ren didn’t respond, and shortly after his snores began.  Hux looked out the window, wondering what the finals would bring. Hux laughed to himself, remembering how against a partnership he’d been at first.  Now, even without Ren as a partner, they still held each other together.

“I wish I hadn’t fought this so much from the start,” Hux told Ren’s sleeping form.  “Maybe things would’ve been different if I hadn’t been so focused on myself.”

Hux turned the light out, but he stared at the ceiling a long time before sleep took him.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, two months late and it's not even the last chapter but I was never going to get this out if I didn't break it into manageable pieces. So, one more chapter then possibly an epilogue, but the plot will be tied up in one more chapter. *crosses fingers*
> 
> I'm really sorry if I missed any typos, I have the makings of a migraine at the moment. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it today, and happy Thursday to those who don't.
> 
> See the end of the chapter for warnings

Hux sat in the living room of Ren’s suite, trying to watch the coverage of the semi finals on his phone, but it wasn’t working.  Every time it would ask him to sign in, then it would promptly fail to load and he’d be prompted again.

Sighing, Hux contemplated throwing his phone across the room.  However, before he could destroy it, Poe opened the door and walked into the suite.

“Oh thank god,” Poe said when he saw Hux sitting there.  Hux gave him an inquisitive look.  “I thought you guys might be doing a little pre-finals hate fucking.  I don’t know what you guys were doing yesterday, but I’m surprised no one called the cops.  I thought you were murdering him in there.  Seriously, I don’t want to know...but _impressive_ ,” Poe said, walking over to the fridge and removing a bottle of water.

“He’s always like that when—”

“No, seriously, I _don’t_ want to know.  I’ve seen him...you know...and I had nightmares about the size of that thing.  I mean, I’m cool with what I’ve got, and I know how to use it...but his junk is... _intimidating_.  I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with it.  I’m pretty sure it could bench press me.  Like that one vein along the side of it looks like Arnold’s neck when he was body building...” Poe continued to spout nonsense, and Hux rolled his eyes.  

“He’s barely nine inches,”Hux said, waving it off.

“You’ve measured?” Poe sounded gobsmacked by the idea.

“Of course, I’ve measured it.  What do you take me for?” Hux said, trying once again to sign in to his phone.  

“Did he know you were...you know what, I don’t want to know.  I just want to shower and get ready.  I have to kick both of your asses today after all,” Poe said.

“Don’t wake Ren, he had a rough night,” Hux said, trying a different website as he pointedly ignored Poe’s words.

Poe stopped what he was doing and leaned against the wall.  “You know you’re shit at lying?  I mean Ben’s obviously worse.  I’ve seen him try to lie to his mother; it was actually physically painful to watch, but you’re shit at it too.”

“What are you referring to?” Hux asked, giving up any hope of watching the coverage.

“You try to make it look like you don’t want to forgive him, but you already have.  It shows all over your face when you complain about him or insult him.  All that shit you say about him is the stuff you couldn’t do without.  And you’re both idiots because all Ben wants is someone to love him despite all his baggage—and I’m not saying there isn’t a lot of it—but here you are loving all of that shit, but neither of you have the balls to say it.  I don’t know what the fuck happened back in merry old England, but you aren’t fooling anyone but yourselves...and maybe the media because they’re too obsessed with you guys hating each other to realize the prelims were several hours of foreplay for you two.  Anyway, enjoy your morning, I’ll be in the shower, trying not to wake the bear,” Poe said, taking his water bottle and walking into the bedroom.

“Jesus Christ, Ben!  You know I live here.  I don’t want to see that!” Poe shouted from just inside the bedroom doorway.  

Hux stood up slowly, following Poe’s path.  Poe slammed the bathroom door as Hux looked into the room.  Ren was lying on his back with his cock in hand, looking completely bewildered.

“I thought you were asleep still,” Hux said, watching Ren tug slowly at his erection.  

“I thought you left,” Ren retorted, not stopping his movements.

“Just didn’t want to wake you.”

“Well, I’m awake, so maybe come take care of this,” Ren suggested, shaking his cock slightly. Poe really did have a point about that vein, but Hux wasn’t about to mention it.

Hux snorted, glancing at the bathroom door briefly.  He shrugged and walked over to the bed, taking Ren in hand.

Poe hadn’t been kidding about the intimidation factor.  The first time Hux had wrapped his fingers around Ren’s cock, he’d been in awe of it.  He’d almost allowed Ren to fuck him in that alley just to get a feel of it.  Now though, it was just another part of Ren.  Hux couldn’t imagine it being any other way, but if it was he doubted he’d mind one bit.  Contrary to what Hux broadcasted to the world, he’d come to love every aspect of Ren, even the ones that drove him crazy.  Hux wasn’t intimidated by the rest of Ren, and he certainly wasn’t intimidated by his cock or his temper.

“You usually take care of yourself before a competition,” Hux commented, rubbing his thumb over the head of Ren’s cock.

“I figured I’d make an exception since you’re here.  You usually avoid me before competition,” Ren told him, sounding pleased that Hux hadn’t left before he’d woken.

“You figured you’d make an exception because you want me to do all the work like always,” Hux retorted, teasing him.

Ren placed his hands on Hux’s hips, dipping his thumbs beneath the waistband.  “I could return the favor,” he offered, tugging down Hux’s pants as Hux continued to gently touch him.

“I think Poe would have something to say about that.”

“You hate Poe,” Ren reasoned.

“I don’t usually put on sex shows for people I hate,” Hux said, using long strokes to pull a groan from Ren.

“You put on a show for me…”

“I said never to mention that again.  I was drunk out of my mind and lamenting turning thirty...and you couldn’t stand on that stupid foot of yours…” Hux said, feeling his cheeks heat.

“ _I’m old, Ren,” Hux complained drunkenly.  It was only 2PM, but he’d been drinking since brunch.  Hux wanted to send a personal Thank You not to the person who thought up endless mimosa specials for brunch._

“ _Hux, you’re thirty.  I don’t think anyone considers that old besides twelve year olds who think anyone older than their latest teen heartthrob is practically in the grave.”_

“ _It is old, Ren.  Your accomplishments stop being impressive at thirty.  It’s no longer, oh he’s done so much in his short life.  Instead it becomes, he’s middle aged and still not settled down.  What are all those accomplishments worth if he doesn’t have 2.5 children?”_

“ _Hux, no one says that shit.  You’re just a really sad drunk,” Ren told him, adjusting the crutches under his arms._

“ _You have clearly never been to a country club, Ren.  I should just give up diving completely and focus on my real job,” Hux continued to whine.  He glanced over at Ren, who was struggling to keep up on the cumbersome crutches he’d been trying to master for days.  Mostly he’d stubbornly walk around on his injured foot because it was just easier, but they’d been walking a lot and he couldn’t keep up without them._

“ _Hux, you aren’t old.  You’re accomplishments are still impressive.  They will still be impressive in another thirty years,” Ren told him._

“ _What do you know?  You’re still a child.”_

“ _I’m only a few years younger than you, asshole.”_

“ _Yet you have the maturity of one of those twelve year olds you spoke of,” Hux retorted._

“ _Never mind, you are old and you might as well get your affairs in order.”_

_Hux continued to argue with him about his age as they went from bar to bar.  Hux was the only one drinking since Ren was still on some fairly heavy painkillers due to his foot surgery._

_By four in the afternoon, they stumbled back into Hux’s apartment.  They were each using one of Ren’s crutches to stabilize themselves, and they somehow made it into the living room without injury._

_Hux looked down at himself as he stood in the middle of the room.  “You spilled all over me, you clumsy brute,” he said, plucking at his sweater in disgust._

“ _You spilled on yourself.  I wasn’t even drinking,” Ren retorted._

“ _Nonsense,” Hux said, stalking out of the room and into his bedroom.  He pulled off his sweater and opened his drawer, looking for a suitable change of clothes.  However, he opened the wrong drawer and came face to face with his collection of Speedos._

_He got a terrible idea as he dug through the massive drawer.  Down at the bottom, there was a gag pair that his sister had bought him when he made his first Olympic team.  Half of the drawer made it onto the floor before he found the pair in question._

_Hux held them up as he stood in front of his mirror.  They looked more like a pair of stripper’s bottoms than swim trunks.  They were a thong back with a bright Olympic gold medal on the front and were bedazzled with glittering thread that made the medal shimmer.  It was hideous, and to this day he didn’t know where she got it custom made.  If he did, he would’ve ordered a pair for Ren...strictly as a joke._

_Closing his eyes, Hux stripped down completely.  He tugged thong up his legs.  It was snug since he hadn’t been quite this filled out when he was twenty.  He adjusted the garment over his hips, so the elastic material didn’t dig in.  He grabbed a pair of Ren’s athletic pants as well as one of his own Olympic team shirts and put them on before walking back to the living room._

_Maybe he_ was _very drunk, he thought as he stood in front of Ren who was sitting on the couch with his broken foot propped up on the coffee table.  Ordinarily Hux would yell at him for that even though Ren had never so much as disturbed one of Hux’s many magazines, but it was Hux’s thirtieth birthday, and he wanted something else from Ren._

“ _Are you wearing my pants because then you can blame me for any stains on them when you do the laundry?” Ren asked, looking Hux up and down._

“ _Not exactly,” Hux told him, having no idea where to start.  So, he just went with what he knew.  He started swaying his hips and moving his feet in an uncoordinated attempt at seduction.  He ignored Ren’s confused look as he started to do the dance they’d been working on in class before Ren was injured._

“ _Hux, how drunk are you?  You are ballroom dancing in the living room alone...like you mean to be belly dancing?” Ren asked him, but he shut his mouth with a snap when Hux reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up over his chest._

_Hux moved his hips in what he thought was a seductive manner as he slowly lifted the shirt over his head.  He spun several times before tossing it at Ren, who caught it easily._

“ _So, you turned thirty and realized it’s becoming late to become a stripper?” Ren teased as Hux continued to move around the open living room without any music to ease the ridiculousness of his movements  That didn’t stop Ren’s erection from tenting the front of his pants though._

“ _It’s my birthday, and I’ll do as I like,” Hux told him primly as he dipped his thumbs into the waistband of Ren’s pants._

“ _I’m not stoppin’ you, Hux.”_

“ _Good.”_

_Hux walked forward, swaying his hips as he came to stand between Ren’s legs.  He pushed his pants down just enough to hint at what was beneath them, and Ren eagerly reached forward to facilitate a peek.  Hux slapped his fingers away and pulled the pants back up._

“ _Not yet,” he slurred, turning around and moving his hips in what he believed was a seductive.  Ren placed his hands on Hux’s hips and began to guide his movements in a less shaky and more appealing manner.  He also squeezed Hux’s ass when Hux tried to swat at him again._

_Hux grabbed the pants again and pulled the back down just enough to reveal the top half of his ass.  He heard Ren’s sharp intake of breath, and that bolstered his confidence.  “You want to see what’s under there, you animal?” Hux asked, turning back again._

“ _Absolutely,” Ren agreed, holding Hux steady when he listed to the side too much._

_Hux rubbed his ass against Ren’s crotch, biting his lip as he felt Ren’s erection beneath the fabric of his pants.  He rolled his hips, tugging his sweats down just a little.  He could hear Ren groan loudly as he revealed the top half of his ass again._

“ _Shit, if this is how you celebrate_ your _birthday, I can’t wait until mine,” Kylo said, slipping his finger under the thong and pulling it to snap it back in place._

_Hux moaned as he felt the slight sting of the elastic jolting back into place.  He stepped forward and off Ren’s lap and tugged the sweatpants all the way down, shaking his ass as he went.  He could hear Ren’s gasp at the full view of his backside, and it boosted his confidence._

_Hux continued to shake his ass as he turned around, making sure to thrust his hips forward appealingly as he faced Kylo._

_He could see that Ren’s mouth was hanging open as he stared at Hux’s gold clad crotch._

“ _Enjoying what a winner looks like?” Hux asked, thrusting his gold medal junk at Ren._

_Ren burst out laughing.  “What the hell are you wearing?” he asked, slapping his hands against his thighs._

_Hux didn’t take the hint, walking closer and straddling Ren’s lap to shake his crotch in Ren’s face.  Ren just kept laughing, wrapping his arms around Hux’s waist so he wouldn’t fall right off the couch.  Hux groaned as Ren reeled him in and nuzzled against his cock._

“ _We need to do endless mimosas more often if this is what happens,” Ren told him, and Hux buried his fingers in Kylo’s hair as he felt his partner nip at his cock._

“ _Yes.” Hux wasn’t even sure what he was agreeing to, but he liked what Ren was doing and he’d agree to whatever got him to do more of it._

_Ren gripped him around the waist tightly and shifted them so that Hux was laid out on the couch beneath him.  Hux moaned loudly as Ren took the thong off of him with his teeth, watching Hux the entire time._

_Hux panted when Ren took his ankles and put them over his shoulders before going down on him.  This was what birthdays should be about, not turning older and less significant.  They should be about Kylo Ren’s mouth doing all sorts of things to him._

_Hux may have said all of this out loud and only became more verbose as Kylo got him closer and closer to coming._

_If Hux screamed Kylo’s name as he climaxed, he certainly couldn’t remember once he slept off his hangover.  However, he still remembered a sense of being at the center of someone’s universe, and he clung to that even as Ren held up his embarrassing thong the following day and teased him about it._

“I wish you’d put on more shows for me.  Do you still have that—”

“Say another word and your Speedo won’t be straining nearly as hard to hold you in anymore,” Hux threatened though even he knew it was empty.

“It wouldn’t have to strain so hard if you didn’t flaunt that tiny ass of yours all over the deck,” Ren growled, rolling Hux beneath him and rocking against him.  

“You are crude,” Hux said, and he was fairly certain he’d be wealthy beyond his wildest dreams if he had so much as a nickle for every time he said that to Kylo.  “And don’t you dare say, ‘I’ll give you something crude’ or ‘I’ll show you crude.’  For heaven’s sake,” Hux chastised him as soon as he opened his mouth.

Kylo didn’t seem fazed as he leaned down and kissed Hux instead.  “How’s that for crude?” he asked.

Hux groaned, but it turned into a real one as Ren rolled his hips against him.

“I’m going to miss this when we have to go home, Hux.  It’s been really nice to have you here with me,” Kylo rambled as he rocked their bodies together.  

Hux couldn’t disagree.  As much as he loved to give Ren a hard time, Hux was much happier when Ren was with him.  Hux had had great success before he was thirty, but it wasn’t until Ren showed up that Hux learned how to have fun too.  It wasn’t until Ren that he realized that there was more to diving that perfect scores.  He’d been so focused on the next medal that he forgot to come up for air and look around once in awhile.

“You should probably do a good job right now, so I’ll consider seeing you again after tonight’s final,” Hux growled in his ear, nipping at the lobe.

Ren groaned, rocking his hips faster against Hux’s.  He reached between them and pulled down the sweats Hux had stolen from his bag.  

Hux whimpered as Ren wrapped his large hands around both their cocks and stroked them.  It was dry and not Ren’s best technique, but Hux was too turned on to care and he assumed that Ren was in the same boat.

They both panted as they moved in tandem.  Hux looked up as Kylo grunted above him, holding himself up with one arm while the other pleasured them both.  Hux was always in awe of Ren’s strength.  He never said it aloud, but Ren was impressive.  His physique wasn’t just for show.  The man was raw power.  

Hux reached up and gripped Ren’s biceps, biting his lip as he felt the muscles beneath the surface move with his efforts.

“I love your arms,” Hux panted, knowing it wasn’t likely he’d get to say it after today and there wasn’t anything to lose.

Kylo kissed him pleasantly, nipping at his lips and cheek as he paid special attention to the head of Hux’s cock.  “It’s weird when you say nice things while we fuck.”

Hux rolled his eyes.  “I’ve given you compliments before.”

“When you want me to do something for you…”

“Whose fault is it that flattery works on you?  Not mine.”

“Just don’t speak.  I’m so close, and you’re ruining it.”

Hux grumbled, but he kept his mouth shut.  Ren’s hand was incredible, and he wanted to savor how it made him feel.  He’d be recalling this for months when he was lonely and desperate.  

“I love the way your eyelashes stand out when you close your eyes,” Ren told him between grunts.  They were both close, and Hux could feel the sweat clinging to both of their skin.  

“Now who is giving awkward compliments?” Hux retorted.

“Shut up.  I just…”Ren groaned loudly, and Hux thought it was over for a second, but Ren opened his eyes again and continued to stroke them.  “...I just want you to know that I wasn’t just after your success.”

“You want me to know that you also found me attractive, so your pursuit of me is doubly shallow?” Hux retorted, though he was flattered by Ren’s compliment.

“Yes,” Ren said, not one to be out done by Hux’s snark.  

Hux rolled his eyes, but he buried his fingers in Ren’s hair and tugged hard.  Ren groaned and twisted his wrist to change up the handjob.  Hux panted—so close to coming that his balls practically ached.

“I can’t wait to fuck you when I kick your ass today,” Ren muttered into Hux’s ear, licking at the shell of it.  It was filthy, but it was just what he needed.  He felt the little swoop in his gut that let him know he was right there.

“Jesus Christ!  Really?” Poe’s voice thundered even as Ren thumbed at the head of Hux’s cock on the upstroke.

It was horrifically embarrassing, but Hux was incapable of holding himself together a moment longer.  His mouth fell open in a silent cry as his whole body tensed.  He came over his stomach and Ren’s fist, shaking with every pulse of his cock.

Kylo, being the determined sort of individual he was, didn’t stop stroking them just because Poe was standing in the doorway in nothing but a towel.  He chased his own orgasm as well, rutting against Hux harder than before.

As Hux was coming down to earth in a haze of sex and shame, Kylo roared.  Hux felt him spill all over Hux’s stomach as he shook violently against Hux’s body.  He nuzzled his nose to Hux’s throat, panting and whining as he kissed him sloppily.

Kylo collapsed to the side and laid on his back, continuing to pant loudly.

Hux glanced at the bathroom doorway, but Poe had disappeared out into the apartment.  Hux doubted he would have been so courteous if he’d walked in on his roommate fucking his ex husband.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” Hux said, getting out of bed.

“No, that is exactly what I needed.”

“I’m going to take a shower,” Hux told him, knowing it was useless to fight over something he had been complicit in.

“I’ll join you.  We can—”

“I’m showering alone, Ren.  You’re going out there and apologizing to Poe.”

“Like hell.  I’m still covered in jizz,” Kylo argued.

“Use a sock.”

“Why do I have to apologize?  You did it too.”

“He’s your partner and roommate.  Don’t be an asshole,” Hux told him, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door before Kylo could say anything else.  

Hux stood under the hot water, thinking about his dives.  He didn’t know how long he was under there, but his fingers were pruned by the time he got out.  He was mildly surprised that Ren hadn’t come banging on the door yet.

Hux wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out into the bedroom again.  Ren wasn’t in there, nor was Poe.  Hux stole a pair of Ren’s sweats and one of his t-shirts before stepping out into the living room.

Kylo and Poe were standing in front of the television, staring at the screen.  They were so engrossed that they didn’t even notice Hux.

Hux was about to open his mouth when he saw Kylo’s picture on the screen.

“...giving further credence to the allegations, Ben Solo has spoken to multiple outlets about the abuse he faced at the hands of Coach Alfred Snoke…” the woman on the screen reported.

Hux stood frozen as video of an interview began to play.

“I thought you said they wouldn’t break the story until after the finals,” Poe said to Ren, still oblivious to Hux’s presence.

“They promised.”  Ren sounded furious.  “They said they wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the competition.  Hux is going to freak if he sees this.”

“...used to have me practice late at night.  He’d never actually lift a finger against me, but he’d give me workouts that shouldn’t have been humanly possible.  He’d cut my calorie intake if I wasn’t performing how he wanted.  He’d hammer in these mantras until I heard his voice in my head always, and then there were the drugs.  Not performance enhancing.  He wanted me sedated...”

“Shut it off before he comes out here,” Ren said, looking for the remote.

“Too late,” Hux said numbly.

Poe and Ren both turned to face him, looking like two schoolboys caught drawing dirty images on the locker room wall.  They seemed to move in perfect unison as Poe stepped in front of the television to block it as he reached back to turn it off.  Ren stepped forward, reaching for Hux like Hux might be suddenly sucked right out of the room if he wasn’t held down.

“...Why didn’t you come forward earlier?” the woman on the screen asked a very sedate looking Kylo.  She looked as eager as anything, knowing she had the story of a lifetime right in front of her.  It was sickening.

“I wasn’t it a good place.  I needed to get my life back together before I could look back—” the television clicked off.

“Hux, don’t pay attention to it,” Ren begged, sounding desperate.

Hux’s mind was reeling.  Every single sign that he’d missed...no, ignored.  He’d ignored the way Ren’s ribs started to show right before the wedding.  He’d ignored Ren’s late night jogs, telling himself that Ren just needed to clear his head.  He’d ignored the agitated rambles when Ren was injured.  He’d told himself it was just the drugs.

“Don’t pay attention to it?  You want me to pretend that I didn’t just hear that you were being drugged and starved by my coach?” Hux asked.  

“I mean, is it really that different than pretending you didn’t see any of it before?” Poe asked, in the most unhelpful manner.  He was still in just a towel, but his annoyance with Ren seemed to have dissolved.

“That isn’t helping,” Ren snapped.

“Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?” Hux demanded, feeling like the world was crumbling around him.

“Hux, you weren’t meant to see that.  You said not until after the competition.  I meant to honor that…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Hux asked, louder this time.  He’d conned himself into believing Ren had left because he found Hux wanting in some way.  Maybe Hux wasn’t enough to fill Ren’s dirtiest fantasies.  Maybe Ren was tired of their constant back and forth.  Maybe he was tired of dance lessons.  Maybe Ren had gotten the knowledge he needed from Hux and moved on to a better partner.  Hux had come up with a thousand reasons, but none of them had scratched the surface.

Ren had left because _Hux_ had failed him.  He’d failed to support him, protect him, care for him.  Most of all he’d failed to see anything that didn’t fit his thirst for success.  He’d fed Kylo right to the wolves and ignored that he was being torn apart to further his own gain.

“Because if I’d stayed that night to tell you, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.  I didn’t want to leave you.  Hell, I wanted to take you with me, but I knew you were too dedicated to it…”

“Before that night, before you agreed to marry me for that farce.  Why didn’t you tell me what he was doing?” Hux asked, feeling lightheaded.

“Because he was doing it to you too, Hux!  He’s been slowly killing you for years.  How the hell was I supposed to complain when you were getting it just as bad in your own way?”

Hux felt like he was choking.  The room was narrowed down to just he and Ren.  Hux couldn’t look at Kylo right now, much less stare him in the eye.

“I need to get going,” Hux said, turning on his heel and heading for the door without his wallet, his keys, and definitely his dignity.  

“Hux wait.  You don’t even have shoes on,” Kylo said, striding forward, but Hux slipped out the door before he could catch him.  

“Hux!” Kylo shouted after him, but Hux was at the bank of elevators and thankfully into the relative safety of the cubicle before Kylo could do anything stupid like follow him in just his boxers.

People gave him odd looks as he walked through the village barefoot and wearing US warmup gear.  He prayed that he didn’t run into any photographers, but he also was so determined to get back to his room that he didn’t care.  They could chase after him if they wanted to add to his humiliation.

“You okay, Hux?” Mitaka asked as Hux banged on their door until he opened it.  

“No.” Hux left it short and simple as he pushed into their apartment.  He didn’t wait for Mitaka to ask any more questions, walking straight for the bathroom again.  He gripped the vanity and looked at himself in the mirror.  

His hair was curling a little and falling in his face because he hadn’t taken the time to plaster it down after his shower.  More importantly, his complexion was blotchy like he’d been holding back tears.  His eyes were red rimmed, and his nose was threatening to run.

Hux remembered this face.  It was the same one that looked back at him the night Kylo left.  It was the same one he’d had to face after hours of crying in their trashed room.  It was the same one he swore he’d never have to look at again.  He wasn’t going to let anyone in again.  And here he was crying over Kylo Ren because he’d failed a second time.  How Kylo had even looked at him since they got to Rio was beyond Hux.

“How did you miss it?” Hux demanded of the man in the mirror.  He ran his hand through his hair and glared into his own glassy eyes.  “How did you ignore it?” he asked much more softly.

_Hux walked into the bathroom he shared with Kylo and went through the cabinets, looking for his migraine medication.  He usually kept it on the bottom shelf, so it was easy to get to if he was in the middle of a particularly agonizing migraine.  He didn’t see the box though._

_Instead, there were two boxes with the information torn off of them.  Hux squinted at them, trying to figure out if Kylo had just defaced his medication or if it was actually Kylo’s._

“ _Ren?” Hux called, gritting his teeth as the sound of his own voice sent waves of pain through his skull.  When Hux got no response, he grabbed the boxes out of the cabinet and stumbled out of the bathroom._

_Kylo was in the kitchen looking as exhausted as Hux felt.  His hair hung limp around his face, and he barely looked up as Hux walked in._

“ _Are these my migraine meds?” Hux asked, putting the box in front of Kylo._

_Kylo looked at the defaced box and frowned.  “Why the hell would you think this is yours?” he asked angrily._

“ _Because it was where I keep my medication,” Hux responded, cringing at the volume of Kylo’s voice._

“ _Can’t you read?  It’s clearly not yours,” Kylo snapped, pulling the box toward him._

“ _No, I cannot read a box with the label torn off, and you know I have trouble reading when I get a migraine.  That’s why I keep my medication in a specific spot,” Hux retorted sharply._

_Kylo heaved an annoyed sigh.  “Come on,” he said, grabbing Hux by the arm and practically dragging him back to the bathroom.  He pulled open the cabinet, glanced around and pulled Hux’s well labelled medication from the top shelf._

“ _Why is it up there?  I can’t get it easily if I’m already really bad,” Hux asked as Kylo filled a small cup with water and counted out Hux’s pills for him before placing them in Hux’s hand._

“ _Because I needed space for my meds.  I use mine everyday.  I figured it made more sense to have them at the bottom.”_

“ _What are they?” Hux asked, still squinting at the torn up boxes._

“ _Stuff for my depression,” Kylo said casually, cupping Hux’s face once he took his pills.  He rubbed his thumbs over Hux’s temples and pressed his fingers to the base of Hux’s skull.  It relieved some of the pain, and Hux sighed._

“ _How are you getting your meds?  You don’t have a doctor here,” Hux mumbled, leaning heavily against Ren as he relieved some of the pain in his head._

“ _Don’t worry about it,” Ren told him, sweeping Hux off his feet and carrying him to his bed.  Hux didn’t have the energy to argue even though he hated to be carried.  It was a lot less painful to let Kylo carry him instead of staggering to bed himself or arguing with Kylo.  He rested his head against Kylo’s shoulder, trying not to grit his teeth because it only made it worse._

_Kylo laid down with him, massaging his head with the lights out until Hux finally dozed off.  Thoughts about the medications gone from his mind, and in the morning when he went looking, Hux found his migraine medication on the bottom shelf where it always was and no sign of the other boxes.  He wrote it off as a symptom of the migraine.  He clearly had either imagined it or been having a bad dream._

“Idiot,” Hux cursed himself, pounding his fist on the vanity.  It had been right there the whole time.  

_Hux rolled onto his side and slowly woke as he realized the other side of the bed was empty.  Hux opened his eyes, glancing across the bed to the alarm clock on Kylo’s nightstand.  3:18 AM it read, and Hux frowned._

_He rolled out of bed, going to the bathroom to check if Kylo was in there, but it was dark and empty.  He wasn’t in the living room watching late night infomercials or in the kitchen making a snack._

_Hux went back to their room and found that Kylo’s running shoes were missing from the center of the floor where Hux would repeatedly trip over them.  Hux got back into bed, assuming Kylo had taken a late night run to wear himself out.  They hadn’t fucked each other to exhaustion that night, and Hux knew Kylo suffered from bouts of insomnia sometimes._

_He told himself it was fine, but he couldn’t fall back to sleep.  He stayed awake for over an hour waiting for Kylo to return.  At 4:45 he heard the front door open.  Hux considered confronting Kylo, but instead he feigned sleep._

_He heard Kylo come in, and Hux controlled his breathing as Kylo crawled into bed.  His skin was cold to the touch and sweaty as he pressed himself to Hux’s back._

“ _Hux,” he said softly as he rubbed himself against Hux’s ass._

_Hux grumbled, wiggling away from Kylo’s cold body._

“ _Come back here.  Wanna fuck before practice,” Kylo mumbled._

“ _Go back to sleep,” Hux told him, needing rest after his disrupted sleep._

“ _Can’t.  Can I rub one out on you?” Kylo asked._

“ _Just be quiet about it,” Hux told him, rolling onto his back.  Kylo wasted no time bracing himself over Hux’s body and beginning to stroke himself over Hux’s belly.  He’d alternate between stroking himself and rubbing himself against Hux’s body, and Hux studied him in the meager light from the window._

_Kylo looked like shit, but he was determined to get off.  Hux was easily distracted by Kylo’s search for release, and after a few minutes, he wrapped his hands around Kylo’s ass and teased his hole as he worked himself._

_Kylo moaned loudly, completely ignoring Hux’s warning to be quiet.  “Yes,” he sighed as Hux rubbed harder against his ass._

“ _You owe me an hour of sleep,” Hux told him, bringing his fingers to his mouth and wetting them._

“ _Fine.”_

“ _I_ _won’t forget it,” Hux said, pressing his fingers back to Kylo’s ass and just inside Kylo._

_Kylo panted hard, rubbing roughly against Hux.  He bucked as Hux teased him and after only a moment, Hux felt the warmth of Kylo’s release spread over his belly.  Hux continued to tease him until he felt Kylo’s muscles tighten in another wave of his orgasm._

_Rubbing Kylo’s back, Hux murmured softly until Kylo collapsed next to him and was passed out even before Hux could wipe himself clean.  Hux grumbled, but he too fell back to sleep still covered in Ren’s come and too tired to question his whereabouts._

“Hux, you okay in there?  You’ve got to head over for practice soon,” Mitaka called through the door.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Hux said, running the water and splashing cold water over his face.

Hux opened the door, and Mitaka was standing there looking solemn.  “I take it you saw the news,” Mitaka said.

“What makes you believe that?” Hux asked sarcastically.

“Hux.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Hux said, pushing past his partner and walking over to his bed.

“Hux, you are defending your gold medal in a matter of hours.  Now is not the time to—”

“Now is precisely the time!  I’m not going to cry on your shoulder, Dopheld.  I’m not going to cry in the shower or trash our room.  I am a professional.  I have been taking blows since I was a boy at boarding school.  When faced with a window or a loss of dignity, I will jump every time,” Hux said, running his fingers through his hair and walking over to his pack.

He stripped out of Kylo’s clothes and threw them on his bed.  He didn’t pay Mitaka any mind even as he marched around his bed naked to find his own warm up pants.  

“Hux…”

“Did you speak to the press too?” Hux asked, tugging his pants on.

“No.”

“Did they ask you.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you speak to them?” Hux asked, pulling his polo over his head.

“Because I couldn’t betray you like that.”  Left unsaid was that Ben Solo had no trouble doing that.  Dopheld would never say such an unkind thing, but Hux’s mind had no trouble filling in that blank.

“I have nothing to do with this,” Hux told him, looking up at his partner.

Mitaka sighed, shaking his head and looking down at his feet.

“What?” Hux demanded.

“You’re right, but, anyone would give their right arm to work with you.  Ren, me, even Unamo.  Even practicing with you is inspiring.  No one comes to your camp to work with Snoke.  They come to be with you.  They come because you will spend hours explaining a dive to us in order to help us all improve.  They stay because _you_ are a game changer.  We endure Snoke because you’re worth it.  I’m an Olympic diver because you picked me to be.  Unamo took what Snoke told her to because she was afraid of being told to leave.  She was on the brink of cracking the hardest dive of her career, and you were spending hours and hours with her between your own practices.  Ren suffered injuries because Snoke wanted to drive a wedge between you.  You two were perfectly in synch, Hux.  I watched you two dive.  When you stood up on the platform, you were the the perfect balance to each other.  It was only a matter of time before one of you realized Snoke was holding you back, so he drove you apart.”

Hux blinked at him.  “You certainly think you know a great deal about me and my life,” he said sharply.

“Hux, it’s all right there…”  Mitaka looked apologetic, but he didn’t back down.  In fact, since the stories started to break about Snoke, Mitaka had slowly begun to come out of his shell.  He’d slowly started to voice his opinion, tease Hux, and even stand up to him.  It was all right there in front of Hux’s eyes.  Just one more thing he’d ignored.

“Get out!” Hux shouted at him.

“Hux…”

“Get out of here,” Hux repeated, grabbing the closest thing to him to throw.  It was only a water bottle, but it was enough to send Mitaka running for the door.  He pulled it closed behind him, and Hux was left alone with his thoughts.

He grabbed Mitaka’s phone off of his bed and dialed a number he’d long ago memorized for fear of actually keeping it in his phone.  His father could never know he had it while he was growing up.  The connection of the international call was terrible, but Hux didn’t care.  He waited, knowing that even though it was late there they would answer.

“Hello?” the soft spoken woman asked across the line.

“Mum,” Hux said in a rush of breath.

“Oh darling,” she said, sounding just as concerned and caring as she had when he was just a boy who came home too often with scraped knees and tear streaked cheeks.  

“I’ve fucked up, Mum.  I don’t know what to do,” he told her.

“Shh, take a breath, Armie.  Tell me what’s the matter,” she said, and her voice was like a caress.  He hadn’t called her in ages for that very reason.  She made him weak.  She kissed his wounds and held him close when he should be able to shrug it all off and get back up.  His father had always discouraged his relationship with his birth mother, but his own grandfather had slipped her number into Armitage’s journal when he’d left for boarding school.  He had told him to call it if he ever had trouble, and he found himself calling it far more often than he did his father.

Hux didn’t think for a second that she wasn’t well aware of the situation.  She’d promised to watch his every competition before his first Olympics, and she’d never given him reason to doubt her.  Still, she’d always given him the opportunity to speak his mind before passing judgment even when his mind was full of his father’s vicious ideals.

Hux sighed.  He didn’t even know where to begin, so he started at the last Olympics when he met Kylo in a seedy bar and fucked him in an alley before ultimately letting Ren into his life.  His mother never interrupted him even when he mentioned having sex with Kylo not ten minutes after meeting him.  After having an affair with Hux’s father that led to Hux being born, he doubted anything shocked his mother.

“It turns out he left because my coach was basically torturing him, and I let it happen.  I just ignored it because I wanted to win.  Then Mitaka came to dive with me, and it started all over…”

“You fell in love with Mitaka or the abuse?” his mother asked when Hux paused, not knowing what else to say.

“The abuse, mother.  Mitaka is...I’ve never thought of him as that.”

“Because you love Kylo?”

Hux let out a shuddering sigh.  “Yes, Mum...because I love Kylo.”

“And you married him?  I have a son-in-law?”

“No...it wasn’t valid...he never told me his name wasn’t Kylo Ren.  It’s Ben Solo, and I’m still alone,” Hux told her.  He tried not to sound bitter.  His mother had endured far worse.  She’d loved his father, and he’d turned around and stolen her only child from her.

“Have you spoken to Kylo?” she asked.

“I can’t face him…”

“That doesn’t sound like my son,” she said.  “I remember the day you went to live with your father.  You looked me right in the eye and told me not to be sad because you were going to be fine.  You’ve always been fearless, Armie.  You wouldn’t be the best at what you do if you were afraid.  You just have to face him, apologize, and show him that you can put him before your ambitions,” his mother told him calmly.

“I don’t know how to apologize!  I’ve never apologized in my life, and how would I even begin to show him I can put him first?  I’m not about to let him win this competition!”

His mother laughed softly.  “If you love him, you’ll humble yourself and apologize.  I’m not saying to lose on purpose, darling.  I doubt he’d want that if he has any pride at all.  You’ll think of something.  You’re my brilliant boy, after all.  And when you’ve forgiven each other, I would like to meet my son-in-law,” she said, sounding absolutely delighted by the title.

“He isn’t my husband.”

“Don’t take this from me.  A mother dreams of her child being happy from their first wail.”

Hux sighed, knowing there was no convincing her otherwise.  “I love you, Mum. I’m sorry I haven’t called lately,” Hux said softly, glancing at the clock and knowing he had to leave.

“And I you.  See, that wasn’t so hard was it?” she asked, and even though it had been years he could envision her smile lighting up her face.

“It’s not that easy with him.”

“I’ll love you no matter what happens tonight, and I will always be proud of you.”

“Thank you, Mum.”

“I can’t wait to see you fly tonight, darling.”

“I have to go.  I’ll call you soon.”

“You’ll be spectacular, and I know you’ll figure this out.”

“Goodbye, Mum.”

“Goodbye, Armie.”

Hux hung up the phone, and stared at it in his hand for a long while.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter warnings: mentions of depression, discussion of abusive relationships/unsafe training conditions (not really in depth), unsafe sex, medication, discussion of Kylo's monster cock, alcohol consumption.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! There's a tiny little epilogue which I'll post tomorrow, but this is the end. Thanks for sticking with this.

Hux splashed water over his face as he bent over the pool.  He pushed it back over his hair, and used it to plaster the most stubborn strands back into place. He closed his eyes and blocked out the flashes and shutters of the press.  

They’d been on him as soon as he stepped out of his shuttle.  Mitaka had pushed through them along with the security from the Aquatic Center.

Hux had held his head high as microphones, cell phones, recorders were all pushed under his nose begging for a soundbite.  

“Mr. Hux, care to comment about the allegations made by your former partner?”

“Hux, did you know what Ben Solo had to endure while you were partners?”

“Hux! How does it feel to be the most hated man in diving and possibly the whole games?”

Hux had glared at them all.  He refused to open his mouth as he followed Mitaka, who was loyal to a fault, through the crowds.

“Mr. Hux?” A woman at the edge of the crowd had asked, not holding out anything to get a soundbite.  Hux glanced at her, but he didn’t stop walking.  “Mr. Hux, what is your reaction to Ben Solo saying he has no plans to divorce you even after all that has happened?” she asked him.

Hux had felt like a sledgehammer had hit him in the chest, and he stumbled.  “What?” he stuttered, but security pushed him through the door before he could get an answer.

Hux shook the water from his hands as he got back to his feet.  The other divers were giving him a wide berth, but that wasn’t really anything new.  Kylo and Poe had yet to arrive, and Hux hoped that this mess wouldn’t interfere with the competition.  He wanted to win fair and square, and he wanted to do it against the best.  That meant both Poe and Kylo needed to be present.

Now, Hux was warmed up and practically trying to drown himself at the side of the pool. He needed to focus, but every flash of the cameras sent his anxiety a little higher. It was like his first meet after Ren had left. He was alone, and he didn't have that pillar that Ren had turned out to be at his side. The fact that he needed Ren at all only served to raise Hux's anxiety, and he let Ren in again after what had happened the first time.

There was no mistaking when Ren walked out onto the deck. The crowds roared, and all the cameras were on him. Unfortunately, so were Hux's eyes. Ren was in just his Speedo. He looked good. He walked like none of the attention or circumstances bothered him at all. He just stalked onto the deck with purpose. His hair was down and lush as ever.  His body was the same as Hux remembered from that morning, but yet now Hux wasn’t sure if those lines were his to touch anymore.

Hux bent to splash his face once more and then moved toward the waiting area. The cameras seemed to split as Hux walked across the deck. There was no avoiding Ren as he moved toward the pool to warm up before taking a couple dives. Poe was beside him, showing a united front. Hux wished Mitaka was there like the first day, but it was just him. Mitaka was already waiting for his round.

Ren walked like he didn't even see Hux, coming within inches of shoulder checking him. It was a front though. Ren was always aware of himself and everything around him. “Don't pay attention to them,” Ren whispered as he passed.

“Easy for you,” Hux retorted, immediately.

“I could make it easier...”

“ _No_ , you can't,” Hux said, moving on without a pause. To anyone watching, it probably just looked like shit talking, but most of them didn't know the history. Now, some of them clearly did if the marriage was out in the open.

Hux went to the waiting area and sat beside Mitaka. Doph gave him a sympathetic look, but Hux looked away. He would not be pitied.

“Ren asked me to give you this, and I would've told him to fuck himself, but he's terrifying on the best of days,” Mitaka said, holding out a tiny envelope.

Hux wanted to push it away, but he couldn't deny Ren. He had never been able to, even that first night when Ren asked to be partners. They fought and often it was very aggressive, but if Ren really wanted something Hux would give it to him.

Taking the envelope from Mitaka’s fingers, Hux stood up and found the nearest restroom.  He closed himself in a stall, and turned the small envelope over in his hands.  He debated leaving it until he was safely on a plane back home, when it wouldn’t affect his performance.  He couldn’t though.  He couldn’t climb to the top of the platform knowing that he left this sitting.

Hux took a slow breath and pulled the flap from where it was folded into the envelope.  His fingers shook, and he felt sweat prickling at the back of his neck.  Inside, there was a single photograph.  Hux removed it and felt his eyes well as soon as he recognized it.

It wasn’t from their wedding like the other photo that Ren held onto.  This one had been taken by his sister too, but it was at a competition—the first competition they had competed in after Ren had recovered from his ankle injury, to be exact.  Hux would remember that moment until he died.

“ _Are you sure that it’s strong enough?” Hux asked, walking closely at Ren’s side.  He walked closer than usual as though Kylo my tilt and tumble over at any second._

_Ren had been off his crutches for nearly two months now, but Hux was still concerned about the ankle.  Ren refused to take painkillers of any kind for it, and Hux knew that it had to pain him greatly when they had long practices.  He powered through though, and other than letting Hux ice it for him when they got him he refused treatment._

“ _Did I land everything in dry practice?” Ren asked, refusing to slow his walk even as Hux tried to dawdle._

“ _Yes, but—”_

“ _And have I been nailing all of my dives in the pool?”_

“ _Yes, but your—”_

_Ren stopped abruptly, turning around and catching Hux before he could pass.  “Do you believe I can make this dive?” Ren asked point blank.  His large hands wrapped around Hux’s biceps and held him firmly._

_Hux raised his chin defiantly.  “You know how I feel,” Hux told him._

“ _Say it.”_

_Hux narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw._

“ _Say it.”_

“ _I know you can make the dive.”_

“ _Good, now let me prove you right,” Ren said, turning on his heel and continuing on like nothing had happened._

_Hux wanted to argue, but they didn’t have time for that as they were up soon.  Hux followed him up the stairs to the platform._

_When the finally walked out across the platform, Hux steadied his breath and went through their routine.  “Breathe,” he said as they stood 10 meters above the water._

“ _Breathing.”_

“ _On my count.  One, two, three,” Hux said before letting go of all of his worries and diving.  There was no worry in the air, just movement and precision._

_They hit the water in unison.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was the start of something.  Hux kicked to the surface and found Ren already above water.  He was giving Hux a look that said ‘I told you I could.’_

_Hux rolled his eyes as he swam to the steps.  Before he could pull himself out of the pool, Kylo wrapped his arms around Hux from behind.  He held him on the stairs, both of them still dripping._

_His strong arms wrapped around Hux’s belly and across his chest.  He pressed his forehead to the back of Hux’s neck and practically lifted Hux off his feet._

Hux studied the picture.  He didn’t know how his sister had gotten it from where she was seated, but she had captured the exact moment that Ren had pressed a kiss to his wet skin before letting him go.  Hux’s expression in the photo was forever a look of utter shock.

“You complete ass,” Hux said softly.

Hux stuffed the photograph back into the envelope and opened the stall.  He walked out of the bathroom with every intention of telling Ren not to do something stupid just to prove some ridiculous point.  Hux was the one that needed to prove himself after all.  At every turn he’d ignored Ren’s pain in favor of attaining success.

Before Hux could get to Ren, their group was being called up.  Hux grabbed his cloth and reminded himself that he had to do his best.  He had to prove that nothing could stop him from success.

He climbed the stairs, visualizing his first dive and blocking out the crowd of spectators.  

“You okay, man?” Poe asked from his position in front of Hux.

“Of course, Dameron.  Nervous that I plan to embarrass you again?” Hux retorted.

“More worried you’re shaking is going to make you fall right off the platform,” Poe told him.

Only then did Hux realize he was shaking.  It wasn’t subtle either.  He probably looked like he was battling subzero temperatures in nothing but his Speedo.

“I’m fine,” he said, focusing on calming himself down.  He couldn’t stop the shaking, but if he was calm enough maybe it would subside.

Hux went through his mantras and his pre-dive routine.  By the time he stepped onto the platform, he wasn’t shaking nearly as much.  Ren had gone before him, and he’d done an excellent first dive.  It settled Hux a little.  Ren had stuck to the script and done his technical execution very precisely.  It gave Hux something to focus on beating.

Hux breathed slowly before pushing off and tucking into a 2.5 somersault and entering the water with no splash.  Ren was there when he surfaced, watching from the deck as Hux swam to the side of the pool and climbed out.

He didn’t go to Ren even if he wanted to.  He went to the shower and rinsed off while they gave his scores.  He was firmly on the top of the leader board, but this was only the beginning.  He needed to stay focused and put everything else out of his mind.

Thankfully, the press couldn’t harass him much during the actual competition.  The way they filmed it wasn’t really conducive to mid competition interviews.  Divers were going almost constantly during rounds, and the time between rounds wasn’t enough for much either.

It was a small blessing.  That didn’t mean that he didn’t constantly have a camera pointed at him.  He could feel the scrutiny even as he sank into the hot tub. The camera was practically in his lap as he kept his body warm.

“Careful man, no one wants to see his nose hairs,” Poe said, coming over and slipping into the water as well.

The camera retreated only marginally.  Hux wanted to roll his eyes.  He really wasn’t that interesting, and certainly no one had been interested when he was simply the best in the world.  Everyone just wanted to see him fail.  That was relatable.  Perfection was frustrating, but a man whose life was a mess was good entertainment.

“Ben doesn’t blame you,” Poe said when the cameraman finally found another target.  He didn’t get nearly as close to the German diver, but at least he was out of Hux’s hair for now.

Hux didn’t say anything.  This wasn’t Poe’s business.  It was strictly between him and Ren.  

“Look Hux, I’m not a fan of you or your coach.  Ben, though, he’s mad about you, and he’ll defend you to his dying breath.  I don’t know what it is, man.  Before we came here, he was anti-Hux.  He had nothing nice to say, and then he sees you in the damn prelims, and suddenly all of that progress is gone and you’re all he can think about.  I think it’s unhealthy—”

“Is there a point to this soliloquy?” Hux asked, cutting into Poe’s stream of words.

“Stop making this about you.  Ben was the one that got hurt.  He’s the one with a pin in his ankle.  He’s the one that had to be weaned off the prescriptions _your_ coach had him on.  Stop making everything about you.  You don’t want to hear his story until later because it might affect you.  You don’t want to acknowledge your marriage because god forbid anyone knows you have a fucking heart in there.  It’s all about you, and Ben let’s it be.  He has a right to his story, and you should’ve heard it from him instead of the press,” Poe told him sharply.

Nothing he said was wrong, and that grated on Hux even more than if he’d just gone off on him for being an asshole.  Poe was right.  Hux had asked Ren to put his pain aside and keep things purely sexual until it was convenient for Hux.  This was probably why it was not wise to fuck one’s partner.

Before Hux could say anything Ren was pulling Poe out of the hot tub and dragging him away.  Of course, it didn’t look like that for the cameras, but Hux knew Ren was pissed at his partner.

Hux climbed out of the tub and tried to stretch in order to keep his mind off of everything.

The next round was just as tense.  Hux’s dive was fine, but afterward he felt like a pariah.  The other divers wouldn’t speak to him.  Even the one’s he had a decent working relationship with wouldn’t go near him.  It was lonely at the top of the leader board.

Hux tried to meditate, but by round four he was spending his time between rounds in the restroom stall holding the picture Ren had left for him.  Hux was seated on the toilet, staring down at the way Ren’s arms cradled him when he heard the door to the restroom open.  Hux considered pulling his legs up to hide, but he chided himself for being childish.

He reconsidered his position when Ren’s feet appeared outside the stall.

“Open the door,” Ren said calmly.

“I’m taking a shit,” Hux retorted.

Ren snorted.  “No you aren’t.”

“How would you know?”

“I lived with you.  It wouldn’t smell this goddamn nice in here if you were taking an anxiety shit,” Ren said.

Hux couldn’t control the indignant noise he made at that.  “You’re crude, and don’t pretend that you crap rainbows.”

“Just open the door.”

Hux sighed, but he put the picture in his pocket and unlatched the door.  Ren stepped inside and immediately latched it again.

“Well, now we’re both in here.  What was so important that you needed to corner me in the restroom?” Hux asked, looking up at Ren.

Ren lowered himself to his knees in front of Hux, and rested his hands on Hux’s spread thighs.  “You ran away from me,” Ren said.  His voice was so soft that Hux hardly recognized it as Ren’s.  

“I—”

“Let me speak.  You always speak.  Right now, I need you to listen,” Ren said, squeezing Hux’s thighs gently to hold his attention.

“I don’t care what the press says.  I don’t care what Poe says.  I don’t care what anyone thinks about what happened.  I don’t blame you for what happened between Snoke and I.  I never have.  I have been frustrated by the situation, but I never blamed you.  You were the only thing that felt right.

“I didn’t feel like I fit at home.  I hated being coached by my uncle.  It never felt right there, but it felt right with you.  The dance lessons, the arguing, the way you didn’t take my shit.  All of it felt right.  Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve done.  I left home without a second thought.  I got back on the platform after breaking my ankle without worrying because you were there.  But it took me months to work up the strength to leave you behind because I knew I couldn’t take you with me.  I knew you weren’t ready to see.  I knew it would only make you hate me...because I was so sure that this was just business to you...but when I got back to the States, I realized I was wrong.  I made a mistake, and I’d left you behind when I shouldn’t have.  I’m sorry that I left you.  I’m sorry that I didn’t know how to tell you.  I’m sorry that I didn’t take you with me, so Snoke couldn’t get to you anymore,” Ren said, leaning forward and resting his head in Hux’s lap.

Hux didn’t know what to say.  His throat felt like it was all closed up, and all he could do was run his hands through Ren’s hair.  He felt the tears begin to fall from his eyes as Ren wrapped his arms around his waist even as his head remained in Hux’s lap.

“I didn’t marry you for a medal, Hux.  I don’t care if I win today.  I came to you because I wanted to learn from the best, and I married you because I don’t think I could ever love anything as much as I love you,” Ren whispered, pressing his face to Hux’s belly and kissing his skin where his jacket hung open.

“I wish I could’ve gone with you,” Hux sighed, messing up Ren’s hair which had been pulled back into a neat bun before he’d come in here.

“You can this time,” Ben said, looking up at his with those deep brown eyes of his.  

“I don’t know,” Hux said, overwhelmed by the thought.  Could he leave everything back in London, and go with Ren?

“I understand,” Ren said, sounding disappointed.  “Will you kiss me for good luck?” he asked instead.

“You know I don’t believe in luck,” Hux retorted.

“Yes, but you have a health fear of superstitions,” Ren said pointedly, pulling Hux to him and right off the toilet.

Hux landed in Ren’s lap, and there really wasn’t much else he could do but kiss him.  So, he did.  It was soft and tentative, but Ren’s arms calmed the nerves that had been so rattled until that point.

“I’m going to prove something to you today,” Ren said against Hux’s lips.

“If we don’t get going, all we’re going to do is get disqualified,” Hux reminded him.

“Don’t pay attention to anyone else.  I’m the only one that matters, right?”

Hux smiled, remembering how he used to remind Ren that no one mattered when they were competing.  “Yes,” he agreed.

“Good.  Now, breathe.”

Hux took a shaky breath at first, but as he focused on Ren, his breathing steadied to match his partner’s.  

* * *

Hux felt the cameras like a jury just waiting to be able to say they want to hang him.  They’d made it to the last dive.  Hell hadn’t opened and swallowed Hux whole yet.  Ren hadn’t gone into a rage in front of the judges.  If Hux could just ignore the circumstances, it was a painfully normal meet.

Kylo was diving before him this round.  They were at the top of the leader board.  Hux had the lead for the moment, but if Kylo executed this final dive flawlessly—which he was completely capable of doing—he could overtake Hux who had saved a safe dive for last.  It wasn’t that Hux’s dive was by any means easy, but it was one he knew he could do in his sleep.

Hux tried to ignore that Ren was right in front of him, and Kylo didn’t seem to mind the silent treatment.  That worried Hux.  Kylo was never in Hux’s vicinity and not picking at something.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Kylo turned around and gave Hux a strange grin.  “I’m going to do it,” he said as his name was announced.

Hux frowned.  Of course he was.  It was his turn to—

“Kylo no!” Hux said, jogging up the last few steps, but Kylo was already moving.  “Kylo don’t do it,” Hux shouted in the quiet of the Aquatic Center.  

All cameras were on them as Hux stood at the back of the platform as Kylo took his place.  Kylo hardly paused at the edge of the platform before turning and hurling himself into the air.

Hux watched in awe of the way Kylo’s muscles contracted then launched him up into the air where he began his twists, pulling his limbs in tightly to his body to facilitate the motion.  He watched Ren twist his body three and a half times before tucking into the pike position and doing another two and a half rotations before straightening out and entering the water.

It was like time slowed as Hux watched Kylo’s long body complete the complicated dive like he was born for it.  It was the one that had broken him before.  It was the one Hux had refused to attempt after the accident, but here Kylo was entering the water with a minimal splash.

He would score nothing for it.  It was unplanned.  He could’ve changed his dive card, but he hadn’t, and he was going to lose this competition for a dive that should have made him the clear winner.

Hux gripped the rail as he waited for Ren to surface, imagining the night he’d clipped his ankle and the way he’d dove in after Ren.  He couldn’t do that now, so he waited even as the arena cheered.  

Kylo surfaced, staring up at Hux like no one else was there.  It was to say he’d been right and also a challenge for Hux.  Hux had mastered that dive when Kylo was still struggling with it, but he’d put it away after Kylo’s injury.  Not only had they not practiced it as a team, but Hux hadn’t been able to do it alone without thinking of Kylo suspended in the water on the brink of unconsciousness.

Hux didn’t look away, and Ren made a big show of taking a breath.  Hux only then realized that he was still holding his own.  Breathing out, he was met by a glowing smile as Ren moved to the side of the pool.

“Hux, you’re up,” one of the officials told him.

Taking another breath, he waited for his name to be announced over the speakers.  First, they announced Ren’s scores which were all zeroes.  That got the crowd fired up, booing in displeasure as they knew they had seen history.

They continued to boo as Hux and his dive were announced.  The official let him through even though the arena wasn’t silent.

Hux couldn’t hear them though.  He was focused on his own dilemma—yet another brought about by Ren.  He walked calmly to the end of the platform and stopped.

As Hux stood at the edge of the platform preparing his own dive, he looked down at the water and pictured the grass beneath the third floor landing window at his old school.  He turned his head and looked back at the steps and imagined the boys coming up the stairs for him.  He could face them.  He could go off script and spit in their faces.  He could, but he looked down at the sparkling water again.

Ren wanted to take him home.  Ren didn’t care what dive he did; he’d still take Hux no matter what.  He’d proven his point all right.  He proved he wasn’t here to win and, more importantly, he wasn’t afraid.

Hux jumped.  He didn’t do the jump that Ren did.  He followed his routine as he always did.  The satisfaction of completing that dive wasn’t worth throwing the whole competition.  Spitting in those boys faces wasn’t worth what they would have done to him.  Hux had learned that sometimes just pushing on was defiance.  It certainly had been when Snoke was at his most sadistic.  

Ren would be waiting for him on the deck no matter what.

Hux felt free as he tucked his body and tumbled toward the water.  He hadn’t felt this free since that afternoon he dove out the third floor window.  

He broke the water cleanly, and he let his momentum take him deeper than usual, cutting through the water like a knife before slowing himself.  Hux didn’t kick up immediately either, just taking in the quiet beneath the surface.  This was what peace felt like.

Ren didn’t blame him.  Ren still loved him, and the only thing standing in their way was him.

Hux kicked to the surface at the steps and he’d barely made it to the top step before Ren came barrelling into him, taking them both back into the water.

“They gave you tens,” Ren said against Hux’s cheek as they resurfaced.  Ren had his arms encircling Hux, holding them both above the water as they bobbed.

“I would know that if you hadn’t attempted to drown me,” Hux complained, though he clung to Ren like he might just drown without him.

“Shut up,” Ren said, turning his head to kiss Hux sloppily on the lips.  

“You lost because of that dive,” Hux said breathlessly as they pulled apart.  

“I don’t care.  I didn’t come here to win.  I came to get you back,” Ren admitted, peppering kisses along Hux’s jaw.

“Why?  After everything?” Hux asked.

“Because I’m better with you.  You help me hold myself together,” Ren said, kicking them toward the stairs.  He didn’t let go of Hux though.  He still wrapped his arms around Hux’s body as they stood on the steps, dripping wet and making a scene that the press was no doubt taking full advantage of.

Hux clung to Ren for another moment, feeling his strength as they were pressed together.  He tried to absorb some of that fearlessness because he knew the press had free reign to grill him now.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Ren said as Hux pulled away.  

Hux stepped away like he was going to the gallows.  He faced the press with his usual dower expression.  He answered the questions robotically as his mind wandered to what he’d do with Ren that night.  He wondered if Ren could be convinced to come back to London or if the city was forever ruined for him.

“How does it feel to secure gold again?” One reporter asked.

“It feels like second place,” Hux replied.

“Because Ben Solo completed a much more difficult dive that he wasn’t credited for?” the woman asked, pressing the microphone to his lips.

“No, because he proved himself to be the superior diver.  I secured gold, but it’s a lie,” Hux said, moving on.  He wasn’t about to lie about his performance; he never had in the past.  

“Hux, over here,” an American journalist waved him over.  Hux went to them because he recognized the news logo.  “We’re here speaking with the three time gold medalist in Men’s 10 meter diving,” the man said to the camera.  Hux just stood tall and tried not to find Ren in the crowd.  “That was a big hug you got there from Ben Solo,” the man started right off.

Hux narrowed his eyes.  “I suppose he was excited.  He isn’t exactly known for his restraint,” Hux said calmly.

The man laughed awkwardly like he didn’t really have a clue what Hux was talking about but didn’t want to seem dense.  Diving was clearly not his sport of choice.  “With all of the news that’s broken throughout the competition regarding the two of you, is it safe to say that that’s all water under the platform at this point?” the man asked.

Hux was offended by the horrible pun, but more so by how poor it actually was.  “You do realize we dive into that water every day?  The significance of water under the bridge, the idiom that you horrifically butchered, is that you build bridges to cross troubled waters and build connections.  You do not build platforms—”

Mitaka pulled Hux away before he could continue and pushed his own way into the man’s face.  Hux honestly wasn’t disappointed.  What a stupid question to ask.

Another American called to him, and he was tempted to move on, but they were pretty much blocking his path.  Hux sighed, stepping into their area.  

“Armitage Hux, your name will go down with some of the greats,” the woman said, smiling at him.

“Thank you,” he said, choosing not to take the bait and praise himself.  He didn’t need to brag; his performance in the sport spoke for itself.  

“Do you have any plans for retirement?” she asked, holding the microphone level but not too close to his face.

“I have not given it any thought,” Hux said, looking around at the other divers who were speaking to the press.  Mitaka was close, but Ren was almost as far from him as possible.  Hux frowned, but he kept that frustration to himself.  He’d have time to speak to him later.

“Even with all of the uncertainty surrounding your coach and any possible involvement on your part?”

“I have no comment on my coach’s conduct, but I can assure you that I had no part in any misconduct that he was allegedly party to,” Hux said the same statement he’d used when Unamo had gone to the press.

“So, you don’t believe your partner, Ben Solo, was maltreated through the duration of your partnership?” she asked.

“I said that I have no comment,” he corrected her.

“Doesn’t that make you complicit in your coach’s actions?  You refuse to acknowledge it which allows him to get away with these acts…”

“I have nothing further to say,” Hux said sharply, then stepped away from her.

“That’s convenient for you, but what about the people who’ve been hurt by him?  How do you think they feel to know that Mr. Snoke is sitting in the stands today watching you compete?” she called after him.

Hux looked back at her in confusion, but she was pointing to the coaches’ box, and there was Snoke standing as though nothing bothered him at all.  Hux didn’t know what came over him, but the world went dark other than his coach standing as though he had any right to be there.

He was moving before he even realized it.  He didn’t hear the journalist calling to him or notice how eyes followed him across the deck.  He didn’t notice Poe, Mitaka, and Ren come running.  

All Hux could see was Snoke’s twisted smile as he approached.  “I told you you could beat that ungr—”

Hux’s fist connected with Snoke’s face with a satisfying snap.  Hux didn’t stop though, he kept hitting the man as he distantly heard his own voice shouting.

“You dare touch him?  You drugged my husband?  I’ll tear you apart!  You’ll never get near him again.  He could’ve died,” Hux continued to scream as he took Snoke to the ground.  

Someone grabbed him from behind, but he fought them off by thrusting his elbow back into their ribs.

“No!  I’ll kill him,” Hux screamed.

Someone else grabbed him, and their body was too solid to fight off.  Even in his state of anger, he knew Ren’s arms as they held him.  He sagged slightly in Ren’s strong arms, but that opened him to Snoke’s retaliation.

Snoke kicked him hard in the ribs, and Hux wheezed.  He tried to get loose, but Ren hauled him off of Snoke at the same time Mitaka and Poe dove at Snoke to keep him down.

Hux struggled trying to get free.  “Let me go.  He deserves it.  He hurt you,” Hux demanded, but Ren held him fast, whispering against his ear.

“Calm down.  I’m right here.  He can’t hurt me anymore.  I’m right here,” Ren said, pressing kisses to Hux’s neck.  

Hux cursed, but he stopped fighting to get away from Ren.  “I’m sorry,” he sobbed.  The world came rushing back in at once, and he just sagged against Ren’s strong body.  “I’m so sorry.”

“Calm down,” Ren said as security approached them.  

They pulled Hux from Ren’s arms and dragged him from the arena.  He could still see Snoke struggling against Poe and Mitaka, but more importantly he could hear the crowd cheering loudly and clapping.

He’d definitely be disqualified for that stunt, and he’d be lucky if he wasn’t arrested and charged.  Hux couldn’t bring himself to care.  

* * *

Hux paced around Ren’s apartment.  The front desk had let him in after he told them he was Ren’s husband.   He’d paid his own bail after he’d been arrested for assaulting Snoke. Hux would never deny that wealth was entirely responsible for his success.  It certainly helped him get out of jail and questioning in under three hours.  He was pretty sure that Snoke wouldn’t have even gotten that kind of turnaround in the hospital.

The first clean punch kept repeating in Hux’s head...and on the television.  Every channel was showing Hux stalking toward his coach and hitting him square in the face as he screamed about him hurting his husband.  

Well, their marriage was definitely out in the open.  Also out in the open was how unhinged Hux had been since losing Ren.  Several outlets were saying Hux was on drugs.  Others claimed he was mad with jealousy over Ren seeing a mystery man during his time in Rio.  It was all patently ridiculous.

Hux clenched his fist as he watched the medal ceremony.  Ren had made the podium because of his attack.  He’d just managed to secure third place even with the score of zero in the sixth round.  That was how far ahead of the pack they’d been.  Poe had gotten second, and one of the Chinese divers had gotten first.  

It didn’t really matter.  Hux was out, and after that stunt he probably wouldn’t be allowed to dive competitively ever again.  Hux’s hand ached terribly.  He assumed he’d broken something in it since he’d never actually learned how to throw a real punch, but it was all worth it.

Hux tried to watch the press conference that Ren and Poe did for the American news on his phone as he finally collapsed on the couch.  His hand was twice the size it should’ve been, and he clumsily poked at the touch screen.

Ren was dressed in his team sweats as was Poe.  They both looked freshly showered, but Ren looked distracted.

“How does it feel to both medal?” the anchor asked, smiling at them as they sat on the couch opposite him.

“It’s great.  It’s great just to be here, but to get a medal or a pair of them for our team is really an honor,” Poe answered, smiling like nothing had transpired to move them both up in the rankings.

They traded silly small talk about the games and competition, but Ren hardly spoke.  He answered direct questions, but he didn’t add anything to the conversation.  He sat almost like he was on a throne, legs spread and body arched forward like a pensive statue.

“What’s next for you two?” the man asked.

“I am actually retiring after these games,” Poe said, smiling pleasantly like he’d long ago come to terms with the decision.

“Retiring?”

“Yeah, this is my third games, and I couldn’t be happier with how they’ve gone.  It’s just time to move onto a different chapter of my life.”

“And you Ben?  This is your second Olympics, but you missed the podium in your first.  Will you be coming back to try one more time for gold, especially with the very difficult dive you completed today?” the man asked.

Ren’s eyes focused again, and he looked at the man with that penetrating gaze Hux had come to know so intimately.  “I won’t compete without my partner,” Ben said.

“Does this mean it’s the end for you as well?” the man asked, looking uncomfortable at the intensity of Ren’s gaze.

Hux paused the video and went back to pacing the apartment.  They should’ve been back by now.  They’d done their press, and they’d gotten their medals.  Hux tried to calm himself down, but he felt completely unraveled.  

It was finally starting to hit him that he’d attacked Snoke, his career could very well be over, and there was still the possibility that he’d be flying home alone.  Just because Ren wanted him back didn’t mean he had plans to move back to London.  Hux couldn’t move to the States.  He’d be out of a job, and diving didn’t pay that well.

Hux was working himself into a fit when he heard the door open.

“Where the hell could he be, Poe?  He’s not in his room.  The police said they let him go.  Wher—”  Ren froze as he stepped into the living room, and his eyes landed on Hux.

“Found him,” Poe said from behind him.

“What are you doing here?” Ren asked, still remaining where he’d stopped.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Hux said simply.

“How’d you get in?” It was Poe who asked this time.

“We’re married,” Hux deadpanned.

“Fair enough.  Look, Ben, I’m going to Finn’s.  Please let me know when you’re finished re-consummating your marriage/partnership/whatever, okay?” Poe asked, then he seemed to reconsider.  “You know what?  I’m just going to grab my stuff while you two argue for a few minutes,” he said, retreating into the bedroom he shared with Ren.

Once they were alone, they stared at each other for nearly a minute.

“You shouldn’t have attacked him,” Ren finally said, balling his hands into fists.

“He deserved it.”

“You were disqualified and dragged out…”

“You should be proud of me.  Isn’t that what you’d almost do every competition when we started working together?”

“I never actually punched anyone!”

“You broke three tiles on the wall with your fist one time,” Hux retorted.

“They were being unfair.”

“He could’ve killed you!”

“I don’t need you to come to my rescue.  I did fine getting myself—”

“You had multiple surgeries on your ankle.  You still have a pin in it.  He was giving you the wrong prescription in order to keep you docile.  He would work you to the bone while telling you that you weren’t good enough—”

“Enough.  He can’t touch me anymore, and punching him is just going to make things worse.  What happens when he sues you for damages?”

“Fuck him, and fuck you too if you can’t understand why I want him dead,” Hux said, turning on his heel and walking to the massive windows that looked out toward the ocean.  Hux braced himself on the ledge that ran between the top and bottom panes of glass.

He felt Ren’s presence behind him.  His hulking frame seemed to engulf Hux’s.  He pressed his chest to Hux’s back and his arms rested on either side of Hux’s.  His head tipped forward, and he pressed his forehead to the back of Hux’s head.  

“You deserved to win today,” Ren whispered, nudging Hux gently with his head.

“You should’ve had gold.  My performance is immaterial.  You executed a near perfect dive that no one else on that platform could do,” Hux said, spreading his hands just enough to rest them atop Ren’s and lace their fingers.

“You could’ve, and if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have pushed myself to do it.  I can’t fix the last four years, and neither can you.  I just don’t want you lose you again.  I don’t care what happens to Snoke or if I compete again.  I came here for you, and I don’t want to leave without you,” Ren said, nuzzling the back of Hux’s neck and pressing a kiss just behind his ear.

“And where will we live?” Hux asked, being practical as always.

“You can come home with me…”

“And who will support us?”

Ren paused.  “My parents?”

Hux laughed, loudly and inelegantly as the sheer audacity of Ren’s words.  Turning in Ren’s arms, he wrapped his own arms around his neck.  “Brilliant plan, Ren.  I see no faults in it,” he said, pressing their foreheads together.

“We can coach.  We’ll figure it out.  It’s not like I don’t have a job or anything,” Ren said, resting his hands on Hux’s hips.  

“Are you really done diving now that Poe is retiring?” Hux asked, feeling a knot in his stomach at the thought.

“I said I wouldn’t dive without my partner...I meant you,” he clarified when Hux didn’t get it.

“Oh.”

“You are incredibly dense,” Ren said.

The apartment door opened and closed with a slam, but neither of them paid it any mind.  “Shut up. I suppose next Games, you’ll be claiming me as American,” Hux laughed.

“We’ll figure something out.  Right now, I just want to know I’m not going to have to leave you again,” Ren insisted, tilting his head to press his lips to Hux’s.  Ren’s kisses never got old, and Hux let himself be swept up in the feel of Ren pressed against him.

“We’ll figure something out,” he parroted, running his fingers through Ren’s hair and rubbing against his body.

Hux pushed Ren backwards toward the couch, wanting to feel all of Ren against him.  They moved until the backs of Ren’s legs hit the couch, and Hux pushed him down onto the seat before straddling him.

“You know…”

“What?” Hux asked.

“Technically, I won since you were disqualified,” Ren said, running his hands up and down Hux’s thighs.

“So what?” Hux asked, rolling his hips to create friction between their bodies.

“So, I’m a winner...and that means I get to fuck you,” he said, grinning up at Hux.

“Don’t flatter yourself, you got third place,” Hux said, fumbling with Ren’s pants to pull his cock out.  He wrapped his fingers around his thick length and stroked him.

“You didn’t place at all.”

“My score was higher.”

“I did a much harder dive and executed it flawlessly.”

“I wouldn’t have called that flawless,” Hux said, getting his own cock out and pressing them together.

“You’re shit at lying,” Ren said, but he started to moan and seemed to lose his train of thought.

Hux pressed their foreheads together and continued to rock his hips against Ren’s.  “I’ll consider letting you fuck me when we’re home, and I’m not wound tighter than a coil or nursing a broken hand,” Hux said, pressing his lips to Ren’s.

“You mean I’m never going to fuck you because you’re always so tense you may actually shit diamonds.”

Hux slapped his arm, but he didn’t argue with him.  

“When we get home, I’m going to give you the best massage of your life and fuck you with my mouth while I open you up, then we’re going to go in the hot tub.  I’m going to fuck you so thoroughly you won’t be able to walk for days, and you’ll actually have a smile on your face for once,” Ren told him as he wrapped his hand around their cocks.

“You’re so confident in yourself,” Hux laughed, but the way he was gripping Ren’s shoulders was a dead giveaway about how his words were making Hux feel.  It wasn’t even like Hux had never let Ren fuck him before, but the argument had become such a staple for them.

“I can’t help it if I know what you like,” Ren said, moaning as he stripped both their cocks.

Hux didn’t have anything to say to that.  Ren did know what he liked, and he made sure Hux got it when given half a chance.  Hux kissed him, letting go of everything and just concentrating on Ren because he was the only thing that mattered.


	7. Epilogue

Cutting through the water with efficiency, Hux focused on each stroke he took.  Currently, he wasn’t diving, but when his body didn’t ache too much he tried to get laps in between clients.  Hux had been working at the pool almost since his move to the States, and the water never ceased to make him feel better, especially when Ren was out of town or mad at him.

Hux swam to the end of the pool and touched the side before turning back for the other end.  He’d jarred his back horribly a while back, and he still couldn’t do flip turns.  More importantly, he was under strict orders from doctors and his husband not to dive.

It wasn’t Hux’s ideal situation, especially when left at home alone while Ren traveled.

A sudden splash alerted Hux that there was another occupant in the pool.  He continued to swim as though he’d noticed nothing, and in no time he saw the little piranha attempting to sneak up on him.  The little girl was about nine, and she was fearless on the shorter platforms.  Hux didn’t doubt she’d make a stunning diver as she matured.

She also had a mischievous streak in her.  

She came up from beneath him, having no hope of keeping up with his long strokes.  Latching onto his ankle, she held on and let him tow her behind him.  Hux continued to swim like he didn’t have a child clinging to him.  When he came up at the end of the pool, her mother was standing to the side looking amused.   

“Where’s your partner in crime tonight?” she asked, keeping a safe distance from the edge of the pool.

“Europe,” Hux said, moving to the ladder as Mia, his wayward pupil, followed him.

“Isn’t that your neck of the woods?” Mia’s mother retorted.

“Yes, unfortunately, I was told in no uncertain terms that I would be remaining here.” Hux tried not to pout, but even Mia giggled at his tone.  It was undignified, but he’d been looking forward to seeing his mother and sister.  They always tried to make it to competitions in the EU, but Hux hadn’t been able to dive in one in nearly a year.

Ren had sent him several photos with Hux’s family, and Hux could only imagine the dirt his husband was digging up on him.  Hux’s back was the least of his worries if their first trip to visit his mother was anything to go by.  The woman had had the baby photos already spread out on the coffee table when they’d arrived.  

Though considering how Hux’s thirtieth birthday had gone, there was really nothing his mother or sister could do that would humiliate him more than his own misguided striptease had.

“But this way you get to see me,” Mia proclaimed.

“This is true,” Hux agreed, and the girl’s mother smiled.  Hux would have never thought the company of children would, in any way, be pleasant.  However, he was fond of his students, and their progression as athletes was rewarding.  Kylo like to tease him about going soft because he was very protective of his pupils, but after everything they'd gone through in their own lives Hux couldn't help being a bit protective.

“Okay, well I’ll leave you to it,” she said, going over to find her usual seat in the stands.

“What are you still doing over here?” Hux asked his tiny protege, looking down at her whip thin frame. They were going to need to work on her muscle tone, or a gentle breeze was going to blow her right off the platform.  “You know your warm up,” he said, pointing to the lap lanes.

Mia gave him a silly little salute before jumping into the water like a maniac.  He’d been working on diving off the blocks with her, but while she was very good on the platform she couldn’t jump from the blocks without doing a ridiculous pose mid air.  He would would train it out of her...if Ren would just stop encouraging it.

* * *

Hux stepped into the modest apartment he shared with Kylo.  It was nothing compared to his old place in London, but it was close to the pool they coached out of.  Even with the mess surrounding Snoke and Hux, plenty of people wanted his coaching expertise.  And it was a good thing they did because that job that Ren had claimed to have was a graveyard shift cleaning up the local movie theater.  It didn’t exactly fund the lifestyle Hux had grown used to.

The apartment was empty.  Ordinarily, Hux would travel with Ren, but Hux had injured his back earlier in the year and long flights left him hardly able to walk. He was slowly getting back to working out, but each time he traveled with Ren he was set back several more weeks.

Ren had been the one to refuse to let him go.  Poe had agreed to travel with him in Hux’s place, and while Hux didn’t like it at all, he knew it was the right decision.  They were still hoping to make it to the next Olympics together.  Hux had taken a year’s suspension for attacking Snoke, but since getting back to competition he’d suffered several injuries.  It seemed like for every chance they got to compete as partners, Hux was forced to miss several events because of his health.

Hux couldn’t deny that he was getting old for competitive sports, but Ren continued to push him to do better.  Ren was going to school for PT during their down season, and he was constantly taking care of Hux—much to Hux’s chagrin.  He gave Hux massages, worked on his sore muscles, and made sure he exercised properly to help his injuries heal.

Ren wasn’t the same man he’d married in London.  He was attentive and aware, and he smiled.  Hux hadn’t realized how deprived he’d been without Ren freely smiling at him for the stupidest little things.  It wasn’t perfect.  His medication was a precarious balancing act, but they worked together to keep each other healthy.  

For the most part, they did a good job.  There were times that Hux had to make sure Ren bathed regularly or that he wasn’t skipping meals, but their constant routine was good for Ren.  More often, Ren would get on Hux about neglecting himself, and Hux had learned to accept Ren’s concern and reminders.  Ren got at him because he cared just the same as Hux did.  It had been strange coming to terms with the fact that they cared far more for each other than they did diving...and they both loved diving.

This wasn’t what Hux had been imagining when he thought about getting Ren back, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything.  They still fought constantly about work, but at home life was quiet.

Even their sex life had settled down.  They no longer went straight to tearing each other’s clothes off or replacing conversation with intercourse.  They had their fair share of sex, and they hadn’t completely given up pool sex or hot tub sex, but it was no longer the glue holding them together now that they were able to admit their feelings.

Walking through the kitchen, Hux pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator.  He placed it on the counter while he went through the mail he’d brought in with him.  Half of it got tossed in the trash, but there was a memo from one of Ren’s sponsors.  Hux forced himself not to open it even though they had several bills due at the end of the week, and he placed it on the neat little pile of mail that had amassed in Ren’s absence.

Ren could deal with it tomorrow when he got home...meaning Hux could deal with it tomorrow when Ren got home and declared that he refused to do anything but sleep for three days.

Hux went to their bedroom and stripped out of his coaching uniform.  He’d been teaching the younger children to dive, and they still had the wonder in them that overcame the fear of the heights.  It was satisfying, and he could actually see himself doing this for a long time.  It wasn’t like what he’d done in London, working out big contracts for his father’s company.  It was better.  It was something he cared about.

He laid down on the bed, and pulled the book he’d been reading off the nightstand.  He had to do his reading when Ren was away, otherwise the man would do everything in his power to distract Hux.  It was like having a cat, but Ren was larger and more of a nuisance when ignored.  At least, some things hadn’t changed.

Hux was a chapter into his night’s reading when the door to the apartment opened.  Sighing, he pulled his glasses off his face and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

“If you’ve come to rob us, you won’t find anything worth carrying out.  My husband’s drained my savings, and I’m stuck in this trash heap,” Hux called out as he placed the book and glasses on the nightstand.  There was silence in the apartment for the better part of a minute, and Hux sighed as he pushed the covers back.

Ren appeared in the doorway before Hux could get out of bed, looming with his shoulders forward and his arms at his sides.  “That still isn’t funny,” Ren told him darkly.

“But it’s true,” Hux retorted, stretching one bare leg out over the top of the covers.  Ren’s nostrils flared just enough that Hux knew he had his husband’s full attention.

“Whose underwear ads are paying the rent?” Ren asked, stalking into the room.

“Don’t remind me.  My mother called yesterday just to gush about your horrendous ads.  ‘Oh Armie, I went to town today, and would you guess what I saw?  Your husband’s beautiful arse painted all over a billboard.  I told the woman next to me that that’s my boy in those smart looking pants.’  It was traumatizing,” Hux said, watching Ren move around the bed.

“You’re the one that did a personal trimmer ad,” Ren said, moving like lightning to grab Hux’s bare ankle and drag him down the bed until he was flat on his back.  Hux didn’t fight it.

“We swore never to speak of that again.  We needed the money to get this place,” Hux complained even as Ren draped himself over Hux’s naked body.

“If you hadn’t punched Snoke, you wouldn’t have lost your legitimate sponsors and half your savings,” Ren reminded it.  It would’ve been a sore spot if Hux weren’t completely satisfied with himself for rearranging Snoke’s face so much that his nose was still unrecognizable.  

“I will not apologize, nor would I have done it any differently,” Hux said proudly.  “No one touches my husband and gets away with it.”

“Except you…”

“Except me.”

“Were you expecting me or someone else tonight?” Ren asked, rubbing his sweats clad body over Hux’s bare one.  “You’re awfully naked considering your husband isn’t due home for another day.”

“That’s for me to know and—”

Hux was silenced with a hungry kiss.  He could feel the tension immediately begin to drain from Ren’s body as he rested on top of Hux.  

“Did you win?” Hux asked when Ren pulled back just enough to rest their foreheads against each other.

Ren sat up, straddling Hux’s hips and shoved down his sweatpants.  Hux bit his lip as he saw Ren was wearing a gold medal g-string much like the one Hux had received from his sister.  He reached up and swatted at the large bulge in the front of the tiny lingerie.

“I see my sister is up to her old tricks,” Hux noted, watching the way Ren’s package bounced at the contact.

“She suggested we wear them as our uniform,” Ren said, moving his hips just enough to keep his cock bouncing behind the sparkling gold thread.

“She is a horrible person, and I am grateful that we only share half of our blood…”

“Your mother agreed.”

“My family is dead to me,” Hux informed him, dipping his fingers into the front of Ren’s thong and pulling him forward again.  “How was Europe?” he asked as Ren stretched out over him again.

“I like it better when you’re with me,” Ren said.

“You’re the one that told me to stay home.  In fact, you told me you’d tie me to this bed if I even thought about buying a ticket and following you there,” Hux reminded him.

“That’s never stopped you from telling me to go to hell in the past,” Ren retorted, nuzzling at Hux’s neck.

“I’ll remind you of that next time,” Hux said, raising his hand to run his fingers through Ren’s hair.  

Ren huffed and rolled off of Hux and onto the bed beside him.  “I need to sleep for at least three days,” Ren said, shimmying out of his sweatpants and shirt but leaving the thong.  Hux watched as the horrendous Dive In tattoo was revealed,  followed by the newer ink that read “Hux’s springboard” on his right ass cheek.  Hux had begged Ren to get the first one lasered off, and somehow that had turned into Ren getting the second because he was worried that Hux saw it as an invitation to others.  

“ _What the hell is Hux’s Springboard?” Hux demanded as Ren revealed his rosy ass.  Hux wouldn’t have noticed if Ren hadn’t whimpered when he sat down.  Now, Hux could never unsee the horrible script covering Ren’s right ass cheek._

“ _You know because when you fuck me hard, you sort of bounce against my—”_

“ _Why on earth did you get a tattoo dedicated to that?  I asked you to get rid of the first one, not get an even worse one,” Hux yelled, feeling like he might just have a stroke._

“ _You didn’t want me advertising that I was available to others, so I made sure you know I’m yours,” Ren said like it made sense._

“ _No!  Dive In written over your ass is tacky.  I don’t want people to see it because it makes you look like an idiot .  Now, you’ve gone and confirmed that you’re an idiot by getting this mess,” Hux said, motioning to Ren’s sore cheek._

“ _No one cares that I have that tattoo but you.  People think it’s funny because I’m a diver and I love getting—”_

“ _If you finish that sentence, I will withhold sex until I am senile enough to forget this travesty,” Hux threatened._

“ _That won’t take that long, old man.”_

“ _I am not old.  I’m not even thirty-five, you ridiculous child.”_

“ _Shut up and rub the lotion on my ass for me,” Ren said, completely ignoring Hux’s anger._

“ _I will not.”_

“ _You will, or you can warm your own feet tonight while you’re sleeping on the couch.”_

“ _We don’t have a couch in this shithole.”_

“ _That’s really going to suck for you then,” Ren said, holding out the bottle of lotion._

“ _I don’t know why I agreed to marry you,” Hux grumbled, snatching the bottle and pouring some onto his hand.  He was tempted to slap it onto Ren’s ass, but he spread it on gently.  It was rather flattering that Ren got a tattoo devoted to him even if it took away from how beautiful Ren’s ass was.  Hux’s springboard.  God, it was horrid, but there was no doubting that Ren cared._

Hux rolled his eyes and moved to press his chest to Ren’s back.  He wrapped his arm around Ren’s waist and kissed the nape of his neck.  “Get some rest.  I want to get back into the pool this week.”

“No, you’re staying in this bed,” Ren mumbled, grabbing Hux’s arm and holding him tight.

Hux didn’t argue...for now.

  


THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this! Thank you everyone who has left kudos and awesome messages! I really appreciate it!!


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